ARCH's Chief Officers' Conference 2023: Using data to get ahead of the cost of living crisis

How housing providers can use data to get ahead of the cost of living crisis was discussed at the Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH) Chief Officers Conference recently.

Deven Ghelani from Policy in Practice was invited to talk about the cost of living crisis with delegates and his slides showed that things are getting worse for the lowest income households before they will get better.

Deven presented the latest analysis from Policy in Practice and said:

The average low-income working-age household was ￡12 per month better off in November 2022 than in February 2022 due to cost of living payments and the ￡400 energy rebate. However, the same household is set to be ￡81 per month worse off from April 2023 compared to February 2022

This is because:

• Cost of living payment split across 18 months
• Loss of the ￡400 rebate on energy bills
• CPI expected to stay high (around 8%)
• Ongoing freeze of the Local Housing Allowance while rents increase
• Council tax liability is likely to increase by 5%

Practical actions that ALMOs and council owned providers can take to improve things

1. Targeted take-up campaigns: More people are eligible for Universal Credit than you might think, and you can see exactly how much Pension Credit we can help residents in your local authority to access here?
2. Energy-efficiency measures: LIFT combines property (EPC) and person (income) measures to pinpoint exactly which households in your stock are potentially eligible for energy support under different schemes. This also helps councils to bid for support from BEIS, with LIFT approved as a partner for bids here?
3. Better Off Calculator: You can access the most accurate, comprehensive and easy to use cloud-based benefit calculator here. It would be great to connect with your head of income, to understand what you currently use and to arrange a demonstration?

View Deven's full slides from Association of Retained Council Housing Chief Officers' Conference below

To chat about how data can help your housing organisation help your customers with the cost of living crisis call 0330 088 9242 or email [email protected].