Kent county and districts identify over £6 million to boost resident's financial strength
Welsh government extends free school meals using our data-led analysis
Policy in Practice seeks partners for Connected Futures Fund
Policy in Practice were finalists at this year's Credit Connect Award
Universal Credit taper rate updated in our Benefit and Budgeting Calculator
Join us and on 7th December for Christmas networking drinks and mince pies
Be part of our 12 Days of Christmas cheer
Free webinar: What next for post furlough employment support?
On-demand webinar: How data can help you target your Household Support Fund
People news and latest blog posts
Kent county and districts identify over £6 million to boost resident's financial strength
Policy in Practice was delighted to join council leaders at the CCN Annual Conference 2021 this month.
The financial resilience of councils was a strong theme running throughout the conference, from the speakers and the conversations we had with delegates.
Building the financial strength of residents plays an important part in reducing the demand on councils and we were pleased to share case studies of work our clients are doing with their data at the conference.
Learn more about how Kent County Council and district councils collaborate with data
In a first for local government, Kent county and district councils collaborated with their data to get insights that help them tackle poverty across the county. Early results from campaigns suggests a potential of £6.4 million of extra income across the county by early 2022.
Policy in Practice seeks partners for Connected Futures Fund The Youth Futures Foundation has launched the Connected
Futures fund, a £6.1 million fund to support youth employment. Youth Futures Foundation is looking to support collaborative partnerships between at least three organisations from a list of eligible authorities, representing at least two of the following:
Community-based partner
Local partner with statutory responsibility for young people aged 16–25
Collective employer body
Proactive, early identification of young people in crisis or struggling is vital if support is to be effectively targeted to those most in need and young people are given the best help into employment. Policy in Practice is in a unique position to work with one of our local authority clients to analyse their data to support young people into better employment opportunities.
Policy in Practice were finalists at this year's Credit Connect Awards
We were honoured to be shortlisted for a Credit Connect award in the Customer Engagement Solution category for our Benefit and Budgeting Calculator. Whilst we did not win, we value being recognised by the debt sector and want to extend a big thank you to Financial Wellness Group and
Sigma for their support with our nomination. Sebrina McCullough, Head of External Relations at Financial Wellness Group joined our colleague Adam Kenny at the awards ceremony, so a special thank you for the support on the night.
Find our more about our Benefit and Budgeting Calculator here
Universal Credit taper rate updated in our Benefit and Budgeting Calculator
Policy in Practice was pleased with the Universal Credit taper rate and work allowances announced in Budget 2021. These changes will put more money in the pockets of working Universal Credit recipients.
Our Benefit and Budgeting Calculator has been updated to reflect these changes, allowing users to see how their income changes with one click.
Join us on Tuesday 7 December for Christmas networking
drinks and mince pies
Join our festive celebration and raise a glass with your peers on Tuesday 7 December at our Westminster office overlooking the River Thames. Meet the Policy in Practice team as you review the year and look forward to what 2022 brings.
Be part of our 12 Days of Christmas cheer Let us spread much-needed cheer this Christmas by sharing your 2021 success stories with others.
Simply send us your stories via this short six question survey and we will showcase and celebrate achievements you’ve had this year in your work helping vulnerable people towards greater financial strength. We will then publish the best stories over twelve days before Christmas.
To say thank you each story will be entered into a prize draw to win three £50 donations to your chosen charity.
Free webinar: What next for post furlough employment support?
Wednesday 8 December All our webinars are free. Please not this webinar will run from 9.30 to 11.00 The widely feared spike in unemployment due to the end of the Job Retention Scheme has not materialised as new research shows that over 86% of furloughed workers moved back into work.
Though reduced, unemployment is still predicted to
peak at over 5% this autumn and more than a million job vacancies exist in the economy.
Against this backdrop, we invite guest speakers from different sectors to join our webinar to explore the work that they are doing to help people into employment, and help them to progress once they are there.
We will be joined by guest speakers Ayden Sims, CEO at Maximus as well as Sunita Gunamal, Advisor and Sally Davy, Housing Integration Officer at Work Redbridge.
Some leading local authorities use their data to identify residents who are struggling or in crisis so they can accurately target discretionary funding where it is most needed. Sutton Council have used insights from their data to identify and target support to over 3,000 households with nearly 5,000 children. They’ve also identified over £7million of unclaimed benefits to which they’ve helped their residents apply. Listen back to learn:
How councils can use their data to target their discretionary funding to support vulnerable households before crisis hits
Sutton Council’s innovative approach to tackling their resident’s Covid-19 income shocks
How Sutton Council use automated data refreshes to respond to struggling residents more effectively
It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Sarah Lambert, Fabiana Macor and Louise Murphy this month. Thank you for all your work at Policy in Practice and we wish each of you the best in your future endeavours.
We look forward to welcoming new colleagues in December and the New Year. More details soon.
We are recruiting for:
Engineering team members
Business and Account Manager
Check out our latest vacancies and find out what it's like to work at Policy in Practice here.
Deven Ghelani mentors social enterprise start-ups
Expert Impact and Plymouth Social Enterprise City Festival have joined forces to bring together a panel of social enterprise mentors and we are delighted that Policy in Practice's Director and Founder, Deven Ghelani was asked to join.
Thank you to Expert Impact and Plymouth Social Enterprise City Festival for inviting Deven to speak, sharing experiences to improve social impact is always hugely valuable.
Kent county and district councils collaborate to tackle poverty using their data. Early results indicate campaigns could boost income by £6m. Read more
Discretionary support: A growing part of social security Discretionary support is welcome but adds more complexity to the welfare system. Councils have a job to do to tackle financial insecurity. Read more
