The Advice Dorset Partnership E news is published fortnightly on a Thursday, BUT if there is something urgent in-between we will send out a short supplementary edition.
As usual feel free to forward this email to colleagues and they can get in touch with us if they wish to go on the list. If you would like to send anything out via the bulletin, and for all other enquiries about the Advice Dorset Partnership, contact Caroline Buxton on her Citizens Advice Central Dorset email: mailto:caroline.buxton
Advice Dorset Partnership – Survey
The Advice Dorset Partnership was set up in 2016 to build a network of information and advice providers which would support each other, improve joint working and service delivery across the information and advice sector in Dorset and BCP, and provide a voice for the advice sector to influence decision-making; it is managed by Citizens Advice. The Advice Dorset Partnership is FREE to all organisations providing advice and support to residents of Dorset and Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole.
During the Covid pandemic, we all had to adapt very quickly to different ways of working and new advice needs. Many lessons were learnt, so it now seems an appropriate time to review and refresh the Partnership, developing an understanding of what things are like for your organisation and clients at the moment, and how working together through the Partnership might be beneficial.
To this end we have set up a short survey and look forward to your response; the survey will take about 10 minutes to complete, and if you can do it by the end of June that would be great!
Jobs
No notifications this week, but for interest The Illegal Money Lending Team is offering apprenticeships; although Birmingham is their base, some opportunities – eg. this one – involve working in other areas. More about Stop Loan Sharks here.
Information updates
COST OF LIVING
Quick Links Fact Sheet for JUNE 2023:
Cost-of-Living-Crisis-factsheet-JUNE-2023
Impact of today’s interest rate rise: The BBC has good analysis here, and related articles such as five tips for saving on your mortgage – here. And of course Martin Lewis on MoneySavingExpert covers these issues.
Disability Cost of Living Payments: This is a one-off payment of £150 – eligibility information is here; more than six million disabled people in the UK will receive this payment between 20 June and 4 July. The DWP have produced a toolkit which provides further information and includes social media assets for you to use to support your customers and audiences.
BENEFITS
Universal Credit (UC) childcare increase: Just a reminder that the increase to the childcare element of UC begins next week. Read the press release.
Universal Credit and self-employment: Govt guide here on how Universal Credit works if you are self-employed and how to report your self-employed income and expenses to Universal Credit every month.
National Insurance – late contributions -deadline extended: Taxpayers now have until 5 April 2025 to fill gaps in their National Insurance record from April 2006 that may increase their State Pension. Extending the voluntary National Insurance contributions deadline until 2025 means that people have more time to properly consider whether paying voluntary contributions is right for them and ensures no-one need miss out on the possibility of boosting their State Pension entitlements. read teh Govt Press Release here.
EMPLOYMENT
Dismissal for querying wages underpayment was unfair: A recent case (summary here) is a reminder that dismissing someone because they have asserted a statutory right is automatically unfair. The protection does not apply to all statutory rights, only those listed in section 104 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The claimant in this case had worked for her employer for 4 months – she was sacked after she queried her pay with HR. More information on dismissal from ACAS.
FAMILY
Child Maintenance service – fees, enforcement and arrears: This House of Commons Library briefing describes what steps the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) may take when a Non-Resident Parent (also known as a “Paying Parent”) fails to pay child maintenance on time or in full. It also provides information on the application, collection and enforcement fees charged by the CMS, and briefly summarises analysis on the effectiveness of the CMS’s enforcement and collection system. The briefing focuses on the use of enforcement measures in CMS cases (the “2012 scheme”), though they may also be applied to arrears arising from arrangements organised under the 1993 and 2003 schemes with the Child Support Agency (CSA).
UTILITIES
E.On Next Energy Ltd: On 2 February 2023, Ofgem issued E.On with a provisional order (PO), after a review found that there were significant failings in E.On’s customer service performance during October – December 2022. Ofgem has engaged with E.On throughout the period of the PO and has agreed a redress package:
- £8 payments to 500,000 customers who were potentially impacted by the poor customer service provision during the relevant period
- an additional payment of £1 million to Ofgem’s Voluntary Redress Fund
Read more on the Ofgem website.
Events
Refugee Week 19 – 25 June: Since its inception in 1998, Refugee Week has brought millions of people together through a vibrant programme of arts, cultures, sports, and educational events. These initiatives, alongside media and creative campaigns, aim to connect people from different backgrounds beyond labels, as well as encourage understanding of why people are displaced, and the challenges they face when seeking safety. Read more here.
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Month – event in Dorchester Borough Gardens Saturday 24 June: A free family event 1 – 4pm, celebrating Gypsy Roma and Traveller history and culture in Dorset. More info on the Kushti Bok facebook page.
Small Charities Week, 19 – 23 June: Small Charity Week celebrates and raises awareness of the essential work of the UK’s small charity sector who make an invaluable contribution to the lives of millions of individuals, communities and causes across the UK and the rest of the world. read more here, and for local info – CAN (BCP), and
Policy in Practice Webinar: Weds 28 June, 10.30am. Missing out – How different sectors are closing the £19 billion unclaimed benefits gap. Benefits are going unclaimed due to administrative complexity, lack of awareness, stigma and the increasingly fragmented nature of support. Too many people are missing out. Organisations across the UK are working hard to help financially vulnerable customers. In this webinar we will be joined by a panel of experts from different sectors to hear what financial vulnerability means to them and their customers, and what they’re doing to tackle it. More info here.
Reports, research etc
Rural Services Network Survey: A survey of rural households shows that more than 75% of respondents say that their financial situation has got worse over the last year. The RSN, which represents rural councils and other rural service providers, conducted the survey with the Rural Issues Group of Citizens Advice to better gauge the impact of the cost of living crisis on households in rural areas across England. Responses to the online household survey were received from 6,780 rural residents in a clear demonstration of the severity of the situation. Headline findings of the survey showed:
- After paying for essentials, two thirds of respondents are in households with a little income left over for other things. However, a fifth of respondents live either in households with no income left over, or in households where the essentials alone exceed their income. These essentials included rent or mortgage, food and drink, essential car or travel costs and childcare.
- Rural residents are cutting back on spending across the board and this is especially true for low income households where notable examples are reduced spending on home heating (90%) and visits to hospitality venues (91% of such households).
Read more here.
Food Poverty – households, food banks and free school meals : This House of Commons research briefing provides statistics on food poverty in the UK, including food banks and free school meals. It notes that in 2021/22 there were 4.7 million people, or 7% of the UK population, in food poverty, including 12% of children. In 2022/23, the Trussell Trust, a charity and network of foodbanks, supplied the highest recorded number of three-day emergency food parcels.
Universal Credit statistics: These experimental statistics cover the number of claims, starts, people, and households on Universal Credit. There is also Work Capability Assessment data for the period 2019 – 2023: by March 2023, more than a quarter (29%) of people on UC had a health condition or disability restricting their ability to work – up 5 percentage points from March 2022.
An end to unfair evictions? This is a new report from Citizens Advice. After four years the renters reform bill has finally been released and its headline commitment is to abolish section 21 ”no fault” evictions. If it’s done right, this vital reform could level the playing field in the private rented sector. But Citizens Advice has identified three critical loopholes which could undermine its aims…..read more here.
Citizens Advice Cost of Living data – June: The slides are here.
Funding news
The National Lottery Community Fund – new strategy: With the aim of strengthening society by creating resilient communities that are more inclusive and sustainable, National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) has released its seven-year strategy, “It starts with community”. During this period, it is expected that at least £4 billion of lottery funding will be distributed across the UK. The strategy was formed over a year-long process comprising 18,000 interactions with people and organisations and focuses on four key missions. These are to support communities to:
- Connect. Support communities to come together.
- Be environmentally sustainable.
- Help children and young people to access resources and experiences that help them thrive.
- Enable people to live healthier lives.
At the core of the strategy are the following principles, which will guide funding decisions and ways of working:
- An equity-based approach to tackle inequality.
- Supporting communities to build from their strengths.
- Supporting what matters most to different communities.
The new strategy will see an increase in funding:
- Awards for All – the maximum grant is being raised from £10,000 to £20,000 covering two years (currently one year).
- A new £15 million programme is expected to open for applications ‘around August’ that will connect communities.
- An additional £9 million will go to support the Climate Action Fund.
Read more here.
Catalyst funding list: Catalyst is a network helping the UK third sector grow its digital skills and processes. They say: We know finding digital funding is always a challenge, and we wanted to respond to our audience’s needs (as our funding articles and pages always get lots of views!) So we’ve compiled a list of funding opportunities, which we intend to keep live and updated on our website.