May newsletter
Policy in Practice
Reducing poverty and empowering people by bridging the £23 billion unclaimed support gap in the UK.
In this issue:
10 years of Universal Credit: Thank you for a fantastic evening!
We were delighted to host Guy Opperman , Minister for Employment and Jonathan Ashworth, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for a cross party event to mark 10 years of Universal Credit.
There's a huge amount of common ground between government and opposition on the strength of Universal Credit relative to the legacy benefit system it replaces.
A huge thanks also to our host Baroness Ruth Lister, and to Iain Duncan Smith who also spoke at the event.
We host these events to ensure policymakers hear from those on the front line. Michelle Birley of The Guinness Partnership gave a powerful account of how to improve Universal Credit from the frontline.
Knowing that £19 billion of benefits goes unclaimed each year amidst a cost of living crisis, the event felt particularly timely.
We have had some excellent feedback from guests and we can't wait to join you all again at future events.
Martin Lewis joins our efforts to boost take up of £19 billion of unclaimed support
We are glad to see our latest analysis highlighting £19 billion featured by Martin Lewis and Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain.
Take-up of support is key to building financial stability. With help potentially available to anyone with less than £16,000 in savings, building awareness is crucial.
The top 5 most unclaimed benefits are:
There are solutions available to distribute support to those who need it.
Awards roundup: We won a British Data Award and were highly commended for a National Technology Award
British Data Awards
We were delighted to win the Data for Good Consulting Initiative of the Year award at the British Data Awards this year with our submission on the Pension Credit campaigns run via LIFT.
We were nominated in three categories in total with our clients Beam and Anglian Water, and enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate with them on the night.
National Technology Awards
We are delighted to be finalists at the National Technology Awards and were highly commended in the category of Data Analytics Project of the Year.
We were in great company on the night, shortlisted in five categories alongside our colleagues at Beam, Anglian Water and Walsall Council. We had a fantastic night celebrating achievements across the board.
New report: A common approach to Welsh benefits
Policy in Practice was commissioned by the Bevan Foundation to look into their proposal for a single framework Welsh Benefits System.
We found that data can be used to enable access to Welsh benefits, and could see millions in unclaimed benefits finding its way to people on low incomes.
The findings from our study have been published in the Senedd’s Equality and Social Justice Committee's report: Unsustainable: debt fuelled by the rising cost of living.
Free webinar: A common approach to Welsh benefits: results from a feasibility study
Wednesday 7 June, 10.30-11.45
The Bevan Foundation recognises the importance of the grants and allowances provided by the Welsh Government and local authorities to low-income households. The Foundation proposes that this support should be brought together into a single framework coined as the Welsh Benefits System.
To turn this vision into reality the Bevan Foundation commissioned Policy in Practice to assess how to implement a common approach to Welsh benefits focusing on data requirements.
Join this webinar to hear:
Consumer Credit Awards: Please vote for Policy in Practice and read the reviews so far
We've entered this year's Consumer Credit Award and would love your feedback to help us win.
We're running in the Best Financial Support Provider category with our Better Off Calculator and every one of your votes helps us on our way to a win.
By leaving a review of the calculator you provide us with one vote and also give yourself a chance of winning £1,000.
Thank you to those who have already voted. Here is some great feedback we've received so far:
We also want to give a shout out to our excellent Policy team who consistently received 5 star reviews this month for their customer support on our instant chat. Amazing work by the team!
DWP position on Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for LIFT clients
This year’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has a strengthened emphasis on compliance, with local authorities subject to compliance audits. There is a requirement to demonstrate that your local authority is using data securely and following the right procedures.
Policy in Practice can confirm that LIFT is compliant with the requirements in the MoU.
All LIFT clients have received communication about the above but please don't hesitate to get in touch with your account manager if you have any questions or concerns.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Would you like to join our next Universal Credit roundtable?
We hold regular roundtables to discuss how to get DWP to release more Universal Credit data to local authorities. The next roundtable takes place on Tuesday 6 June from 16:00 to 17:00. Attendance is by invitation only and all LIFT clients are invited. If you would like to join our conversation, please email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk
May events roundup
IRRV Spring Conference
We were delighted to attend the IRRV Spring Conference in Leeds this month.
We talked to delegates about the ongoing impact of the cost of living crisis and the importance of maximising income for financially vulnerable households.
National Association of Financial Assessment Officers Conference (NAFAO)
This was our first time attending the NAFAO conference in Birmingham and we had some great conversations with delegates at our stand.
We were also asked to speak at the conference. Founder and Director, Deven Ghelani, talked about the impact of unclaimed benefits on the social care system. Client Services Manager, Abigail Everett, highlighted clients' achievements in improving the financial stability of households.
On demand webinar: What English councils could learn from Council Tax interventions in Wales
In this webinar we discussed Policy in Practice's review and evaluation of the Welsh Government's measures to mitigate the impact of council tax liabilities on vulnerable households in order to improve the management of council tax collection.
Listen back to learn about:
Many thanks to all our speakers:
Alex Clegg , Senior Policy and Data Analyst, Policy in Practice Jane Worrell , Revenues & Benefits Senior Specialist, Folkestone and Hythe District Councils Zoe Charlesworth , Associate Policy and Research Lead, Policy in Practice
The MJ covered our webinar on their website, highlighting our finding that a more sympathetic approach to non-payment of council tax would be beneficial to vulnerable households.
We were also featured in the Telegraph this month. Our analysis shows that 120,000 households face paying more back in taxes than they receive in benefits.
Free webinar: Missing out: How different sectors are closing the £19 billion unclaimed benefits gap
Wednesday 28 June from 10:30 to 11:45
Advisors on the frontline say that they have never seen so many people coming to them asking for help and now the stats prove it. A new report from the Financial Conduct Authority shows that nearly 11 million people are now struggling to meet bills and credit repayments, up by over 3 million in just one year. This equates to over 16% of the UK population.
At the same time, new research by Policy in Practice shows that £19 billion of benefits and support is unclaimed each year. Millions of families are missing out on billions of pounds of support that could help them through the cost of living crisis.
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.
Sharing claimant's experiences: Are you happy to be contacted by journalists?
We are building a list of clients on the frontline who are happy to be contacted by journalists for case studies about our analysis. If you are interested in being added to the list of contacts, please let us know by sending an email to hello@policyinpractice.co.uk
May's blog posts
New analysis: Missing out: £19 billion of support goes unclaimed each year
New analysis from Policy in Practice finds that 21 million families are missing out on £19 billion of unclaimed benefits and support.
Is a social tariff the best solution to high energy prices?
From July 2023 the Ofgem price cap will be £2,074. We look at the best way to provide households with support for energy bills.
Cross-party event to mark 10 years of Universal Credit at the House of Lords
An event to mark the tenth anniversary of Universal Credit was held recently by Policy in Practice and the Centre for Social Justice at the House of Lords.
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:
If you would like to join our talent pool for future opportunities visit policyinpractice.co.uk/jobs