Pension Credit campaigns praised by Minister, In-work poverty evidence published by APPG, the existing housing crisis worsens the cost of living crisis and more

In this issue:

£1.7bn of unclaimed Pension Credit: see how much your local authority could gain
Policy in Practice highlights local authorities' success with take up to Pensions Minister
Our analysis shows the positive impact of extending Free School Meals
Our evidence on in-work poverty published in APPG Poverty report
Better Off Calculator is the new name for the Benefit and Budgeting Calculator
Policy in Practice's LIFT platform recognised at LGC Awards
Congratulations to our clients who are shortlisted for IRRV Awards
Upcoming events and recent speaking engagements
Webinar recap: How the housing crisis has deepened the cost of living crisis
July’s blog posts and people news

£1.7bn of unclaimed Pension Credit: see how much your local authority could gain

Policy in Practice analysed DWP data to quickly show the rates of unclaimed Pension Credits in all local authority areas.

We’ve calculated the value of unclaimed Pension Credit in each local authority area as well as the number of eligible households not yet applying are shown. Our work shows that across the country, on average, 170 households in every local authority are missing out on support.

We’ve also estimated the value of the increased income to the local authority and each claiming household. This is based on successful take up campaigns run by our LIFT clients.

Find out the value of unclaimed Pension Credit in your area

We helped Islington Council to secure Pension Credit worth an average of £3,396 each for 268 households, within three months. Meanwhile, Kent's district councils have delivered economic benefit of £500,000 to the area within six months.

View case studies from Islington, Tower Hamlets and Folkestone and Hythe councils

Claim Pension Credit before 24 August to get Cost of Living payment

Councils are urged to contact pensioners who are eligible but not claiming Pension Credit to encourage them to apply before 24 August so they can get the Cost of Living payment. This is the cut off date for applications.

Read Eligible pensioners urged to claim Pension Credit to help with cost of living - GOV.UK

Policy in Practice highlights local authorities' success with take up to Pensions Minister

We were hosted by the Pensions Minister, Guy Opperman at a Pension Credit roundtable on Monday 18 July. Deven Ghelani shared the successes of Policy in Practice's LIFT clients and spoke about the benefits of rolling out a national data-led campaign to allocate £1.7 billion in unclaimed Pension Credit.

Minister for Pensions, Guy Opperman said:

“We’re going all out to promote Pension Credit, knowing how important this extra support – worth on average over £3,300 per year – could be for pensioners across the country.

“It’s great to see the excellent work Local Authorities are doing to boost take-up in their areas. We’re also calling on everyone with retired family, friends and loved ones to check in with them and see if they could be eligible.”

View our presentation slides

Policy in Practice analysis shows the positive impact of extending Free School Meals

As we head into the school summer holidays, we look into the shortcomings of the Free School Meals scheme.

By resolving this poverty trap within Universal Credit, the new Prime Minister will prove their ability to work cross-party, and support the calls of education and teacher union leaders. We echo their calls for Free School Meals to extend to all households on Universal Credit. We have written to ministers with our analysis.

Read our open letter to the Prime Minister

Our evidence shared in APPG on Poverty's report on in-work poverty

Policy in Practice recently submitted evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Poverty. The APPG wants to explore actions that both employers and government can take.

In our submission, we shared recommendations based on our research and data analysis on in-work poverty, as well as our work with frontline organisations. Read our evidence submission here.

Our evidence has now been published by the APPG.

Read In Work poverty report

Policy in Practice's LIFT platform recognised at LGC Awards

We were delighted to be shortlisted for the Digital Impact Award at the LGC Awards 2022. We were nominated for our work helping councils to allocate £18.5 million in Household Support Funds. Though there was no win for us this time, we received some excellent feedback from the judges:

“A deeply impressive data analysis platform, converting council data into actionable insight to help councils address the cost of living crisis”

Well done to Kent County Council who were also finalists in the Digital Impact category for their collaborative, data-led work tackling poverty. They received similarly strong feedback:

“Great to see joint leadership from county and district councils on tackling poverty. A fantastic use of the Policy in Practice insights platform.”

Huge congratulations to our clients Coventry, East Riding of Yorkshire, Enfield, Hackney and Milton Keynes local authorities who had wins in their categories.

Upcoming events: see you there

We are pleased to be exhibiting at the following events:

Employment and Skills Annual Conference, Birmingham on Tuesday 13 September
IRRV Scotland, Crieff on Wednesday 14 to Thursday 15 September
LACEF, Bristol on Thursday 22 September
IRRV Annual Conference, Telford on Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 October
Solace Summit, Birmingham on Wednesday 12 October

We are attending:

Utility Week's Consumer Vulnerability Conference on Tuesday 13 September
Labour Party Conference, Liverpool on Sunday 25 - Wednesday 28 September
Conservative Party Conference, Birmingham on Sunday 2 - Wednesday 5 October

Deven Ghelani will speak at the Housing and Data Analytics Summit, Birmingham on Thursday 6 October.

Recent speaking engagements

Digital Exclusion and Digital Poverty roundtable, 5 July
Deven Ghelani spoke about digital inclusion and support needed to tackle device poverty at a roundtable hosted by Reventus on 5 July. He shared insights about how inclusion can be considered at the forefront of service design.

All Change Please: Reimagining Solutions to Family Homelessness, 6 July
We attended the Capital Letters conference, where Deven Ghelani discussed the impact of the benefit cap on private rental sector affordability. Deven shared information on benefits policies that prevent families from leaving temporary accommodation.

View slides

MALG Midlands Regional Member Meeting, 13 July
Speaking at the Money Advice Liaison Group (MALG) Midlands Conference, Deven Ghelani discussed the process of Managed Migration to Universal Credit. He explored why people are being migrated, how it might impact people, and some steps organisations can take to support people ahead of the move.

View slides

Webinar recap: How the housing crisis has deepened the cost of living crisis

In this webinar, we explored the policy issues affecting housing affordability for low-income households, examining the scale of the problem as well as what can be done in both the short and long term.

We highlighted important work done by our clients using data to proactively address housing issues.

Listen back to hear:

How the ongoing housing crisis in the UK is often overlooked when discussing the current cost of living crisis
Policy change is needed to build more houses and raise (or scrap) the benefit cap
Positive steps you can take to make a difference

Listen back and view slides