Preview
Read our August news
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
View as a web page                                                                                                                                                Forward to a friend
In this issue

  1. New analysis: Real-time findings on the impact of Covid
  2. Join us: Summer networking drinks at our offices in Westminster
  3. Contribute: Create a nationally representative dataset for researchers
  4. Media coverage: The Sunday Observer and Municipal Journal
  5. Policy in Practice featured in MHCLG's best-practice guide on council tax collection
  6. New ROI calculator: demonstrate the impact of your work
  7. Steering groups: Thank you for contributing to LIFT and Calculator product development
  8. See you there: Housing 2021 and IRRV 2021
  9. ISO 27001: Awarded formal accreditation for information security
  10. On-demand webinar: Designing a post-pandemic council tax reduction scheme
  11. ICYMI: next month's webinar, people news and latest blog posts
New analysis: Real-time findings on the impact of Covid

Findings from our latest data-led analysis show how Covid support measures and falling rents played a vital role in helping the most vulnerable Londoners cope financially through the pandemic.

With the continued support of Trust for London, Policy in Practice analysed administrative data covering nearly half a million low-income households across 15 London boroughs to show how the pandemic has affected Londoners on the lowest incomes.

Headline findings

  1. Caseloads: Council tax support caseloads grew by 13%.
  2. Cost: Council tax support scheme costs grew by 16%.
  3. Households not in work: 67% of working-age households in the dataset are not in work, a rise of 7% points between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021
  4. Relative poverty: 32% of households in the dataset are in relative poverty.
  5. Housing affordability: 38% of tenants' income is spent on rent. This has dropped by 2% between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021 due to a temporary fall in private rental costs.

Read report: Impact of removal of Covid support and rising housing costs
Read report: Impact of Covid on caseloads and costs
   
We will be presenting these findings at an in-person event in our Westminster offices on Wednesday 15 September at 15.30. Numbers are limited and we will be observing all Covid-19 safe practices.

Join us to hear findings from the latest wave of our research which covers the time period of the Covid-19 pandemic. We will share what London's administrative data shows about:
Join us: Summer networking drinks at our offices in Westminster

Immediately following our presentation of our Low Income Londoner's research findings we will be hosting networking drinks in our new offices in central London.

Please join us for drinks on our terrace overlooking the Thames. Reserve your place at our in-person event at our new office in Westminster. Numbers are limited and we will be observing all Covid-19 safe practices.

Contribute: Create a nationally representative dataset for researchers

Policy in Practice and Manchester Metropolitan University have submitted a joint request to Administrative Data Research UK for funding to establish a dataset of local administrative data (including Universal Credit data from DWP) that can fill knowledge gaps of how local and national policies affect low-income families.


The research will inform local authority policy and practice and also help national understanding of social policy. We believe that the full potential of administrative data is untapped and that research projects that make use of it could make a real difference to the lives of people on low incomes throughout Great Britain.

We are inviting you to join this ground-breaking project. This would mean making your data available to researchers through the Office for National Statistics Secure Research Service, with clear governance arrangements in place both for sharing the data and for access to the data by researchers.

Please complete the survey question to express your interest or request more details. Alternatively contact Mary-Alice Doyle, Policy in Practice, for more details on hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or 0330 088 9242.
Media coverage: The Observer and Municipal Journal

Findings from our analysis of the impact of the end of Covid support on the UK's most vulnerable residents was in the news this month.

The Observer: A million jobs in peril as one in 16 UK firms say they are at risk of closure
Research suggests end of furlough scheme could be the UK economy’s ‘inflection point’
by Michael Savage, 15 August 2021

Our latest data-led analysis about the forthcoming Autumn of income shocks is quoted in The
Observer.


Deven Ghelani, Policy in Practice, said, " By removing the pandemic's protective measures too early the government is introducing an Autumn of income shocks to families who depend on this support. [ ...] incomes and local economies are much better protected by keeping these measures in place."

Read the full article here

Deven wrote about the cost of council tax support for The MJ. The article covers Policy in Practice's analysis of administrative data from nearly half a million households across 14 London boroughs which shows how the economic fallout from COVID has impacted the caseloads and costs of council tax support schemes in the capital. Our work shows that council tax liability rose by 4% on average across London last April and again, by a further 4%, in 2021-22. In addition, council tax support costs grew by 16%. This equates to £2.4m for the average borough, representing nearly 1% of a council’s total budget.

Read the full article here

Policy in Practice featured in MHCLG's best-practice guide on council tax collection

In light of the importance of council tax collection, The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been working with experts to establish guidance on best practices. The guidance was published this month and we are delighted that our work at Policy in Practice has been highlighted.

Over the past two years, we have partnered with local authorities to make more effective use of local authorities' data to help in the collection process. As the report says:

"The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham has worked with Policy in Practice to combine household-level datasets to assess residents’ financial capability. This has allowed the council to take a broader holistic view of a residents’ debts, and identify struggling households in order to offer tailored support.

"In-depth analysis of household-level data also helps the council to track outcomes and determine what would be the most effective course of action to take for similar scenarios. When this holistic approach to debt was brought in, the council saw a 10% reduction in the use of temporary accommodation over the year."

Read the full government guidance on council tax collection here
Read more about our work with London Borough of Barking and Dagenham here
New ROI calculator: demonstrate the impact of your work

The new LIFT Return on Investment calculator is a comprehensive tool that helps our LIFT clients to plan campaigns, record outcomes, and analyse the overall impact of their work.

Clients can follow the built-in
instructions to:

  1. Select outcomes to track, assign values to each outcome, and measure the total impact of campaigns

  2. Record the number of households outcomes have been achieved or, and compare to other headline figures such as the number of engagements made and households initially identified.

  3. Measure the fiscal, economic and social gains that campaigns have created, and calculate the return on investment for each campaign

The ROI calculator can be tailored to each LIFT client's needs. Custom outcomes, values and campaign types, can be added, or one of our existing templates, such as a basic benefit take-up campaign used instead.

Steering groups: Thank you for contributing to LIFT and Calculator development

At the end of July we held our latest Benefit and Budgeting Calculator and LIFT platform steering groups. We were delighted to invite over 60 new clients who have purchased Policy in Practice products in the last year to join the steering groups and help shape the future direction of our product roadmaps.

Thank you to all clients who joined our steering groups. Hearing your experiences and opinions about our products is important to how we grow, and we value the direction you give to us as we progress.


Read what happened at our latest Benefit and Budgeting Calculator steering group here
Read what happened at our latest LIFT steering group here
See you there: Housing 2021 and IRRV 2021

We are looking forward to exhibiting at Housing 2021 in September and IRRV Conference 2021 in October. We're hoping to see familiar faces and meet new people as we move back into the in-person event space.

Housing 2021: visit us on stand E72

Come and say hello to us at Housing 2021 in Manchester Central from 7-9 September on stand E72. Meet Adam Kenny and Ed McNamara who will be delighted to talk to you about the impacts that our clients achieve. Take part in our daily prize draw to win £50 for a charity of your choice, and listen to Adam and Ed live in conversation with our clients who are dropping by.


IRRV2021: visit us on stand 25 and hear us talk on Day 2, Stream 2

We are also looking forward to exhibiting at IRRV Conference 2021 at the Telford International Centre from 6-8 October. As well as running our stand 25 we will be delivering three talks in the Welfare, Benefits and Social Inclusion stream on Day 2.

  • 0900 Making the most of Universal Credit (and its data) with Deven Ghelani, CEO and Sam Tims, Senior Policy Analyst, Policy in Practice
  • 11:00 How administrative data fights food poverty with Ellie Kershaw, Tackling Poverty Programme Delivery Manager, LB of Tower Hamlets and Zoe Charlesworth, Policy in Practice
  • 15:45 One council’s response to the end of Covid-19 support with Dawn Cove, Head of Benefits, Redbridge LBC and Terrin Mathew, Policy in Practice

Please get in touch to book a time slot on one of our stands and we look forward to seeing you there.

ISO 27001: Awarded formal accreditation for information security

Policy in Practice has been awarded the ISO27001:2013 accreditation, the only auditable standard that deals with the overall management of information security, not just which technical controls to implement. This accreditation proves that information security is part of our company culture, and gives our clients added confidence about the care we take with their data.

Deven Ghelani said, "This is an important accreditation for us as we expand our handling of data. There is nothing more important than ensuring that the trust our clients put in us is thoroughly deserved. Well done to the team for their continuing hard work and diligence in this area."

On-demand webinar: Designing a post-pandemic council tax reduction scheme

We were delighted to host David Graaf, Head of Service Delivery at Haringey Council, in our August webinar on council tax reduction schemes in a post-pandemic world. David shared Haringey's recent experience and his tips for involving Members in CTRS redesign.

Listen back to this webinar to learn:

  • Latest thinking about how Council Tax Reduction Schemes can more easily target those most in need
  • How to balance the need to stay within budget with the need to meet political commitments
  • Emerging trends for the future
ICYMI: next month's webinar, people news and latest blog posts

How Autumn's income shocks will hit low income families
Wednesday 29 September

All our webinars are free and run from 10.30 to 11.45

Join this webinar to learn:

  • How much different households are set to lose when Covid supports are withdrawn
  • What support tools are available for individuals and organisations
  • Best practice advice from a frontline organisation

We will be joined by Monica Kaur from the Money and Pensions Service.
Details and register here
People news

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

The real challenge with technology projects isn’t technology
by David Carboni, Chief Technology Officer, Policy in Practice


Published by LeadDev, 26 August 2021, David Carboni writes about the link between culture and success.
Read more
August's blog posts

New report: Covid-19 and council tax reduction in Wales
Read findings about Covid-19 and council tax reduction in Wales from our new research for the Welsh government.
Read blog post

Autumn of income shocks: the impact of removing Covid support
New data-led analysis shows how Covid support measures played a vital role in helping low-income Londoners avoid poverty.
Read blog post

Benefit and Budgeting Calculator steering group
Read about our latest Benefit and Budgeting Calculator steering group online.
Read blog post

LIFT platform steering group
Read about our latest LIFT platform steering group online.
Read blog post



Email Marketing by ActiveCampaign