Councils cut arrears and boost income using data; utilities integrate income max into customer journeys and more
Policy in Practice
Reducing poverty and empowering people by bridging the ￡23 billion unclaimed support gap in the UK.
We make The MJ
Our analysis showing ￡19 billion of benefits and support is unclaimed every year lands in the Solace Summit 2023 edition. Local government is well placed to do something about it, as our case studies show. As councils grapple with the cost of living crisis Deven Ghelani explains how they can use data to help residents access benefits and ease the pressure.
We're helping leading councils to put support into residents' pockets?
We marked London Challenge Poverty Week by attending the Greater London Assembly's Cost of Living conference where we discussed ways to ease living pressures with partners.
Listen back to our webinar with the Greater London Authority to find out how we helped over 2,000 Londoners access more than ￡8.4 million per year in Pension Credit.
This month we attended the IRRV Annual Conference in Telford where Deven Ghelani spoke to attendees about the potentials and possibilities for Universal Credit data . October saw our bi-monthly LIFT Community workshop take place. Over 100 people joined the discussion about tackling housing and homelessness using the LIFT platform.
To learn more about the LIFT Community of local authority practitioners email [email protected] . We also talked to many council Chief Executives at the Solace Summit in Birmingham and shared stories of the impact our clients are achieving using data.
Learn how we helped East Riding of Yorkshire to run takeup campaigns that boosted residents’ annual income by ￡13 million and reduced arrears by ￡650,000.
We talk about the impact of a changing welfare system on low income households
Deven joined Phil Holdsworth on the Wisdom Chat podcast this month to chat about unclaimed support, the complexities of the benefits system and how he struggled when he needed it. Deven talked about how his early experiences shaped the work that Policy in Practice is doing to make it easier to access the social security system, and what's coming next.
Deven also appeared on Times Radio at the Conservative Party Conference to respond to Jeremy Hunt's proposal to cut benefits for the long term unemployed. Deven said that nine out of ten people have their benefits cut because they miss appointments and understanding why is where the government should focus.
Also at the Conservative Party Conference Deven spoke on a panel with Bright Blue and StepChange. They discussed the policies and products needed to help households that are under pressure due to the cost of living crisis.
We're working with utilities to build better customer journeys
We are attending Utility Week's Consumer Vulnerability and Debt Conference in November where we'll talk about how our work with water and energy companies integrates income maximisation and debt recovery into their customer journeys.
Read how Anglian Water's Apply Once process allows customers to seamlessly apply to their social tariff scheme at the same time as completing a benefits check. Find out more about Northumbrian Water's proactive approach to supporting vulnerable customers on our October webinar replay .
We won a Credit Strategy award with Fair for You
Congratulations to Fair for You who won Best Vulnerable Customer Support Initiative at the recent Credit Strategy Vulnerability Awareness Gala awards. Read how Fair for You integrated our Better Off Calculator to create more social impact .
Congratulations to our new partner Debtstream who also won two CCS awards on the night. Our work with DebtStream will help people manage their debt and access unclaimed support all in one place.
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November speaking engagements
MALG conference Deven joins a panel to discuss The cost of living on the breadline: Income maximisation to make ends meet at the upcoming MALG Conference in Birmingham on 9 November. He'll speak alongside Ren Yi Hooi from Lightning Reach, Jessica Taplin from British Gas Energy Trust and Anna Buckle from PayCaptain. Visit the team on our stand too. More details
Liverpool Access to Advice Network Conference Policy in Practice's Senior Researcher, Juliet Nil Ulraz, chairs the workshop What difference does advice make? Working with universities and other researchers to measure impact at the Liverpool Access to Advice Network Conference on 23 November. Hosted by the University of Liverpool the conference will explore collaboration, innovation and reducing health inequalities. More details
Join our upcoming free webinars
Reducing barriers to work using data led campaigns with Haringey Council Wednesday 29 November, 10.30 to 11.45
Register here to automatically receive the slides and recording
12 months of policy: our review of 2023 with policy experts from Policy in Practice
Wednesday 6 December, 10.30 to 11.45
Register here to automatically receive the slides and recording
How the debt sector is connecting people to support
Wednesday 31 January 2024, 10.30 to 11.45
Register here to automatically receive the slides and recording
IRRV Insight: Navigating the cost of living crisis - supporting tenants
Policy in Practice's column in October's issue of the IRRV Insight magazine examines how Community Housing and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive built income maximisation into their tenancy processes.
October blog posts
Fair For You integrates Policy in Practice’s Better Off Calculator to ensure their customers claim all the support they are eligible for.
Water bills will soar by 40% this winter yet ￡900 million of social tariffs is unclaimed a year.
Jobs at Policy in Practice
Want to join us? If you share our passion for using data and technology to change lives, we'd love to hear from you. See our latest vacancies:
Join our talent pool to hear about future opportunities visit policyinpractice.co.uk/jobs .