Emerging Priorities - One Darlington · Web viewFamilies. There has been a pronounced shift since...

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Discussion Document

Emerging Priorities – An Action Plan

Emerging PrioritiesDarlington is in many respects a tale of two towns. Alongside significant reductions in public sector funding there is evidence of major investment in the borough with cranes in the air, new buildings springing up and entirely new sectors attracted to the town. Of equal contrast is the divided in borough between relative prosperity and poverty.

Charting the key changes in Darlington over a decade, from 2008-2018, identified a number of key trends affecting need and deprivation across the borough. The victims of poverty are changing – from unemployed to those in work, and from old to young - and the gap between those at the bottom and the top is growing.

Inevitably much of the focus of this discussion document will be on supporting communities to cope with reduced public services. However the borough also benefits from a number of strengths which stand it in good stead. So this report will also explore how these strengths can be exploited.

The priorities identified for the Partnership by the report were:

Alleviating poverty and its impact on families, children and the disabled; Tackling isolation of the elderly and vulnerable; Improving the skills, qualification and employability of local people, particularly young

people. Responding to the growing issue of in-work poverty by promoting the creation of jobs which

offer equitable pay rates and are accessible by the local workforce.

Comment received on the Emerging Priorities document indicated that little attention had been given to Darlington’s environment which has been included here as a priority.

Tackling these priorities one-by-one, a list of potential actions (many of which have already been used with some success elsewhere) are identified for the Partnership’s consideration.

Some initiatives which do not neatly fall under any single one of the priorities but, as broad overarching measures, could help achieve a number of key outcomes spanning multiple priorities are also included for the Partnership’s consideration.

With reduced capacity in the public sector, significant attention will need to be given to how any of the suggested actions could be implemented.

Seth Pearson – Partnership DirectorNatasha Telfer – Policy Officer

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Alleviating poverty for families, children and the disabled

1. FamiliesThere has been a pronounced shift since 2008 from those in poverty being unemployed to those who are in-work but on low wages (usually topped up with tax credits). Tackling in-work poverty by improving the skills and employability of residents has been identified as a priority in its own right, and child poverty will be addressed in the next sub-section.

Significant strides have been made in reducing unemployment - in Darlington and nationwide - over the past few years. For those families who remain out-of-work, therefore, the question is why. For some, the problem is a lack of employability which will be addressed later on in the report. For other families, the reason they remain out of work may be that the jobs available do not fit their lives, in terms of flexibility or wages, so they are financially better off not working (which has outlays such as transport and childcare which cost, on average, £3,405 a year). For these people, the problem that needs to be solved is how to make work pay. Low wages and problems relating to flexible working however remain a problem, particularly in the demographic context which means that more working-age people have caring responsibilities. Though much

Potential actions for the Partnership around this issue include:

1. Minimising Work-Related Expensesa. Transport

Encouraging residents to cycle and walk to work, where possible, can save them money in transport costs, particularly if employers run the Cycle to Work salary sacrifice scheme (additional benefits in terms of physical and mental health improvements are a bonus). Encouraging car sharing is another way that employers can help their staff maximise their income. Additionally, offering tax-efficient schemes for annual season passes for trains and buses can reduce daily travel costs significantly. Arriva, for example, currently have a salary sacrifice scheme offering season tickets at a significantly reduced cost for the staff of participating organisations which more employees could sign up to. Allowing home working, where possible, is also a means by which employers can eradicate transport costs for employees altogether.

b. ChildcareEmployers can help with the cost of childcare through childcare voucher schemes and encouraging the take-up of Childcare Tax Credits.

2. Credit Union MembershipEmployers can also encourage their employees to sign up to the local credit union which has a number of schemes designed to help people manage their finances.

The above may be issues Darlington Cares would wish to campaign on, encouraging employers to consider as part of being a good Corporate Citizen.


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2. ChildrenAnalysis of IMD2015 in the report indicated a recent rise in child poverty, and this has been corroborated by recent findings by the North East Child Poverty Commission. Combined with cuts to early intervention and prevention services in 2011/12 and the potential for further cuts in this area, there needs to be a continued focus on this issue. Examples of initiatives utilised elsewhere include:

1. Poverty Proofing The School Day Darlington schools could sign up to poverty proof the school day. Using the toolkit developed by Children North East, schools will be better able to reduce the stigma and discrimination that children and young people face at school; as well as to remove barriers to learning to help schools reduce their attainment gap. It can also be used to help schools decide and plan the most effective way to spend their pupil premium allocation.

2. Maximise Take-up of Free School MealsThe Council can add an online form to its website so signing up to FSM is as quick and easy as possible, and each school can advertise. This will maximise the amount of central funding which can then be targeted to help children from low-income families achieve their potential.

3. Breakfast ClubsA recent survey reported that 80 per cent of teachers in England and Wales see hungry pupils arriving at schools without having eaten breakfast each week, with many having nothing to eat until lunch. Teachers also reported that children affected were more likely to be lethargic, unable to concentrate and disruptive, which has obvious major consequences for their educational development. There is funding available to helps schools with a significant proportion of their pupils eligible for FSM to provide free school breakfasts, such as Kelloggs.

It is likely that schools in Darlington have already considered some or all of the above. However, it may be worth a discussion with Head Teachers regarding how the Partnership could support them in accessing additional sources of funding.

4. Holiday HungerLinked to the above is the issue of FSM-eligible children losing their free meal every day. Providing extra meals during the school holidays can be a real struggle for many families and the FoodStore has reported spikes in demand during these times. There are three main approaches that have been adopted elsewhere in the country during school holidays for the Partnerships’ consideration:

a. Provide free activities for children that include a basic lunch;b. Run ‘lunch clubs’ targeted at children eligible for FSM;c. Provide supermarket vouchers for eligible families.

Again, this might be an area that Darlington Cares would wish to explore. Resources potentially available to help local organisers of holiday hunger initiatives include County Durham Community Foundation, Make Lunch and FareShare North East.


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3. Disabled PeopleThe key issues for disabled people since 2008 have been cuts to disability-related benefits and cuts to services, including legal and advocacy support, or higher charges. There is a need therefore to ensure that disabled people in Darlington claim what benefits they are entitled to, which given the complex nature of the welfare system entails expert knowledge, and support for individuals with disabilities to find work where possible.

1. Employment is one obvious means by which the incomes of disabled people can be increased, where the individual is able to work, and local employers can encourage applications from disabled people to support this, whilst at the same time enjoying potentially major benefits for their business including:

i. Increasing the number of high quality applicants;ii. Creating a workforce that reflects the diverse range of customers it serves and the

community in which it is based;iii. Bring additional skills, such as the ability to use British Sign Language, which could result

in large savings.There is a range of support available for employers, such as Disability Confident and Access to Work, including information and even funding for adaptations and other costs and the Jobcentre could play an important role in supporting employers and disabled applicants. Local examples of best practice, such Student Loans Company and EE, already exist and are great examples of Darlington businesses committed to this. Foundation For Jobs (FFJ) have worked with these businesses to produce a video to promote the benefits to employers of taking on or offering work experience to disabled people which could be shared with employers to encourage greater participation.

Foundation for Jobs could work with Darlington Cares to promote the benefits of employing disabled people amongst local employers.

2. For disabled people who are not able to work and who are therefore dependent wholly upon welfare benefits for their income, the focus must be on ensuring these individuals claim everything they are entitled to. Organisations like CAB and DAD do a fantastic job of advising, supporting and advocating on behalf of disabled claimants, however capacity is always an issue and with inevitable further funding reductions from the public sector .

The Partnership could highlight the capacity issue of benefit advice and support for disabled people with funders such as CDCF.


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Tackling Isolation of the Elderly and VulnerableThis is a key cohort for the Better Care Fund. While at the time of writing clear guidance on the use of the fund in 2016 is not available, the general principle of helping older, frail people stay healthy and happy at home will continue and this is supported by addressing isolation often through the VCS. Similarly, helping people leave hospital and be settled back at home as quickly as possible is impacted by what they return to at home, and again the VCS has a role to play.

The Better Care Fund also has an objective around supporting and developing a resilient third sector, in order to be able to deliver integrated services which dovetails with the objectives of this action plan, and so joint actions should continue to be developed in this area.

The Partnership initiative Good Friends has already done a significant amount to tackle the isolation of the elderly and vulnerable in Darlington and provides a good mechanism for further work. Service cuts and the demographic composition of the borough mean that isolation is still likely to continue to be a growing problem and therefore suggestions for how to expand upon existing provision have been set out, as below:

1. Partnering with Activity ProvidersThere are many activities available in Darlington that could be targeted at older people and vulnerable groups to help reduce isolation. Initiatives elsewhere have partnered with community gardens, arts and crafts centres, nightclubs, colleges in order to set up regular meet-ups for those in danger of isolation to learn new skills, be more active and, most importantly, have some social interaction.

2. Telephone ClubsSimilar to the Good Friends scheme, telephone clubs depend upon volunteers offering up some of their time to make calls to isolated individuals, in situations where a physical visit is not wanted or practical.

3. Strategic Targeting and Marketing of InitiativesThe recent report, “Combating loneliness” offers a wide range of advice for local organisations look to tackle loneliness, for example, using the Age UK index designed to target loneliness. Analysing data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), the research identifies the key factors associated with being ‘often lonely’ and weights them by their relative contribution to loneliness risk to construct the evidence-based index. The index is being used in a series of pilots across the UK and interim results show a strong correlation between people reporting as lonely in areas where the index has highlighted. The heat map below has been created using data from the index for Darlington for this purpose. Further analysis into the types of people in Darlington experiencing loneliness, and the extent could also be helpful in ensuring the initiative is targeted as effectively as possible. Ensuring regular marketing activities are undertaken, including door-knocking etc., could also help expand the scheme’s reach and impact.

Good Friends is the flagship initiative of the Partnership addressing isolation. Further dialogue between commissioners and providers could be held to evaluate service and explore options to grow.


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Improving the Skills and Employability of Residents and Young PeopleResearch from the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion in 2010-11 identified skills mismatches in local areas. , There are a number of areas in which Darlington residents are gaining qualifications despite there being a lack of jobs locally for them to fill once qualified.

Darlington NEET data further supports the need for this priority. 6.55% (235 young people) of the Year 12-14 cohort are classed as NEET, of which 73% are male, 58% are in Year 14 (around 18 years old), and 65% are only seeking employment. Furthermore, 4.7% of the 18-24 year old cohort in Darlington are claiming Job Seekers Allowance, over double the Great Britain average of 1.8% and much higher than the Darlington 16-64 year old figure of 2.8%. National developments such as the government’s new youth obligation, careers and enterprise company and Enterprise Bill, which includes a number of measures aiming to improve the quantity and quality of apprenticeships, will also hopefully help towards progress in this area, although other changes – such as the introduction of advanced learner loans - may have the opposite effect.

There are a number of actions that local organisations can take, and where a partnership approach would be particularly effective, both to support and expand current work in the area:

1. Joint-working to identify and tackle skills shortagesThe FFJ steering group, made up from partner members including local companies and education providers and Job Centre Plus (JCP) helps decide priority sectors and areas, guided by local labour market information (LMI). FFJ then arranges experiences relevant to sectors with shortages, and delivers them in partnership with local businesses. This work could be continued and expanded, for example by further education providers consulting with local businesses when deciding what courses to provide and incorporating work experience placements with local employers etc.

2. Partnering with Wider OrganisationsThe Council’s Economy team already sit on TVU’s skills-level groups representing local businesses and TVU currently have strong focus on establishing and promoting higher level apprenticeships and encouraging local training providers to deliver higher level skills by illustrating the existence of current demand which matches with Darlington’s aims. The new combined authority however may offer some potential to achieve progress in terms of additional funds to broaden scope of courses to match local labour market. 3. Prioritise Darlington ResidentsThe London Borough of Newham saw its success rate soar from 2% to 80% when it broadened its jobs programmes from focusing solely on jobless residents to considering the needs of local employers and identifying suitable candidates. Some of this work is already to an extent being replicated in Darlington: the JCP run sector skills academies when local businesses looking to recruit a number of new employees, including some of the firms included in the new Feethams development, in the hope the business in question will then employ some if not all of those who participate. Expanding initiatives like this which identify suitable local candidates and encourage them to train in certain sectors, for example to include more businesses and individuals who are in-work but looking to up skill, could make significant progress towards meeting this priority.


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Creating Quality JobsWhilst unemployment has fallen in the borough, a worrying trend is that middle-level and income positions, which were often provided by the shrinking public sector are declining. There is a growth however in jobs that don’t require the same kinds of skills, or offer development opportunities, flexible working, security and fair pay that define a job as quality. This problem is particularly time-sensitive due to the fact that many people in low pay become ‘stuck’ historically, and become unable to progress their careers – 75 per cent of individuals in low pay in 2001 were still low paid a decade later.

The Council has a strong focus on inward investment and an impressive track record. The Partnership could support the Council in developing a comprehensive understanding of local skill levels to inform its inward investment activity.


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Darlington’s environment

Darlington is noted for its pleasant environment and attractive public realm. The Council, along with partners in the voluntary and private sectors, have come up with innovative models to maintain the environment despite reduced budgets. However pressure on budgets continues to tighten.

Darlington Partnership can support the Council and its partners in maintaining Darlington’s environment by:

1. By using the One Darlington magazine and its social media presence to encourage people to care for their local environment.

2. Support a continuation and possible expansion of Rethinking Parks3. Bring together local businesses in business parks to consider how they might collaborate

to provide or commission their own environmental services


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In General…Some initiatives from elsewhere in the UK do not fit neatly under one of the Partnership’s identified priorities but, nonetheless, could help achieve a number of outcomes related to these priorities and have been included as examples of broad, overarching and ambitious approaches which, depending upon the Partnership’s appetite, could have a big impact on a wide range of indicators:

Local Philanthropy Campaigns

The best example of this is Islington Giving. Set up in 2010 by a group of local charitable trusts, in the aftermath of similar research which also found high levels of inequality in a relatively concentrated borough, Islington Giving is a partnership campaign to tackle poverty and isolation by identifying local solutions to local problems, and asking residents and businesses to give locally, whether it be money, time, skills or any other resource. Key features include:

a. Encouraging local buy in by:i. Motivating residents and businesses with easy ways to give locally;

ii. Increasing understanding of local need by involving residents;iii. Motivating locals through personal connections and word of mouth;iv. Earning confidence and trust that money raised is spent wisely;v. Using local ambassadors and advocates to build support;

vi. Acting as a “one-stop shop” for place-based philanthropy;vii. Encouraging residents to help design services that meet their needs.

b. Identifying the priorities of the place, rather than that of the donor or funder. c. Pooling effort, expertise, influence and resources from the local community (residents,

businesses, agencies and institutions) and external organisations to address the borough’s priorities.


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Darlington Community HubArguably, in Darlington, we have enough delivery vehicles across public private and voluntary sector s. With resources tight the task now is to focus our energies on need and to empower our communities to be more self-reliant and resilient. Through the Partnership we have developed some initiatives which continue to deliver effectively (e.g. Foundation for Jobs, Good Friends, Darlington Cares). With Darlington Cares, our local employers have come together to harness and maximise their energies in support of Darlington’s communities. The Partnership is also currently working with public sector agencies to collaborate on increasing and improving public/community volunteering. Darlington Borough Council , with the support of Groundwork, have developed a model of locality based community empowerment in Redhall. Plans are afoot to roll this out to other areas of the town. In addition the Council, along with other public sector organisations are commissioning services aimed at supporting communities of need.Meanwhile we have a voluntary sector which, whilst weathering a difficult financial climate, continues to deliver invaluable services in Darlington.In County Durham Community Foundation we also have an engaged and ever more strategic philanthropic funder.

Considering the above, we have solid building blocks to take the ‘Islington Giving’ model and adapt it for Darlington. At the heart of Darlington Community Hub would be local community empowerment which helps local people identify the priorities of their place and come up with their own solutions to address them. But what the hub could then do is bring around that community the vast array or support listed above. The hub could provide two critically important activities:

Support in motivating residents and businesses to give of their time and energy Securing additional resources (e.g. Reaching Communities funding, CDCF)

This unquestionably would be a Partnership activity requiring significant time and energy to bring to fruition. However the potential benefits to Darlington and its communities are huge.


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