By Helena Canavan, More Than Food Project Manager, Bridging the Gap

Bridging the Gap has over the summer provided school uniform support to families across Manchester and Trafford, in the form of school uniform grants and preloved pop-up shops. We have supported over 150 children and we are aware of other local initiatives providing similar support. Dependent on funding we hope to continue and expand our school uniform support.

Being unable to afford the mandated clothing should never exclude a child from school or negatively impact their educational experience. However, our work in this area has drawn attention to the unmanageable cost of school uniforms for parents across Greater Manchester and highlighted examples of children missing school, being reprimanded by school or facing social exclusion because they are unable to wear the correct uniform.

We are now looking to campaign both local government and local schools to ensure they are addressing the cost of school uniforms and providing support to parents around school uniform costs when needed. Our work comes at the same time as new statutory guidance  from the Department of Education requires that schools ensure the cost of school uniforms is reasonable and secures the best value for money. We want to ensure all schools across

Greater Manchester are aware of this update, are reasonably adjusting uniform costs and support to meet this requirement and are aware of and able to refer into any further uniform support for parents in their local area.

If you are interested in hearing more, would like to support this work or would like advice and support setting up local uniform support in your area please be in touch with Helena or Michelle.

To find out more about how GMPA is responding to the cost-of-living crisis click here

By Lucy Goode, The Growth Company

The Growth Company, an award-winning social enterprise rooted in Manchester, has launched its Max Your Money campaign to help people boost their income and make their money go further in light of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

Support is available for the unemployed, those who are wanting to progress in their careers, and business owners – including individuals who are self-employed.

For people who are currently out of work, the Growth Company can assist with job-hunting, interview preparation and access to relevant training and qualifications. They can even support people with setting up their own business.

Those who are in work and looking to step into a higher-paid role can also access training and apprenticeships to enhance their skills and earning potential.

Business owners and those who are self-employed can benefit from a package of support to help them grow and adapt their business to make it more profitable – including access to funding, networking opportunities and recruitment advice.

As part of the Max Your Money campaign, people can also get help with saving money when on a low income, reducing their energy bills, managing their credit card and budgeting.

Anyone wanting to learn more or take advantage of the support on offer can contact the Growth Company by phone on 0161 237 4101, or by email.

Read more about the campaign here.

A new tool from Citizens Advice for understanding the cost-of-living crisis

More and more people are coming to Citizens Advice in financial crisis than at any point since the start of the pandemic.

One of the most powerful indicators comes from their debt advice.  Citizens Advice do detailed budgeting exercises with tens of thousands of people every year, trying to help them come up with sustainable ways to get out of problem debt. But for almost half of the people they help, because of the cost-of-living crisis, their advisers now just can’t make the sums add up.

Citizens Advice are now publishing a new regular index for this data called ‘In the Red Index’ because it shows the proportion of those who come to them in debt who can’t make ends meet. They’re literally in the red. Since the cost-of-living crisis began, the proportion of people in a negative budget has only been going in one direction: up.

They are seeing the highest proportion of people in negative budgets since their records began. In early 2019, the number of people they were supporting in a negative budget was 36%. In the first quarter of this year — before the energy price cap had increased – the figure had reached 46%,

The financial support available throughout the pandemic was keeping people afloat eg Universal Credit £20 uplift.

The trend for every demographic group is upwards; the increase in essential costs is catching everyone to some degree. But the crisis is discriminating — it’s making things tougher for groups who were already struggling.

It’s security of income and security of tenure that matters, in addition to actual income level. If you can’t predict when you’ll be paid  – as for example self-employed people often can’t  – you could be more likely to end up in a negative budget.

And because Universal Credit calculations about entitlement are complex, and because it can vary month by month, it’s hard to work out what your payment is going to be and that variability often makes it harder for people to budget effectively.

Read the full article here

Affordable housing that is easy to understand

Article provided by Manchester City Council

Manchester City Council has announced a new rent level called the Manchester Living Rent as a way to make sure more homes are affordable to Manchester people. The Manchester Living Rent (MLR) is a rent level that people on housing benefit can access, meaning new housing – regardless of where it is built – will be affordable to anyone in the city. This level of rent will be capped at the Local Housing Allowance level (or LHA). The LHA is the rent level set by the Government that will cover a person’s rent if they are on housing benefit or Universal Credit.

The MLR is also cheaper to residents than the standard Government definition of Affordable Housing – or 80% of market value for a particular area.

By pricing new homes at this rent level, the Council can ensure that new housing can be accessed by as many people as possible – particularly those households on lower incomes. The Council’s home building company, This City has already made a commitment that at least 20% of all the homes built by the company will be set at the MLR. And most Registered Providers and Housing Associations already cap their affordable homes at the MLR to ensure people on housing benefit can access their properties.

However, the ambition is that all Registered Providers and Housing Associations sign up to the MLR movement, as well as developers making a commitment to the Manchester Living Rent to improve access to affordable housing for Manchester residents.

Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig said of the new Manchester Living Rent: “I grew up in Council housing, my family still rely on it. I know first-hand the security that affordable housing can bring. This is something we care deeply about and something we are committed to improving in the city.

“We should and will do anything in our gift to bring homes to Manchester people that they need – and in places they want to live. Making sure we have the right kinds and supply of housing is vital to a successful city, including low-cost options.

“The Manchester Living Rent is important in that it creates a level playing field in housing affordability. It means that regardless of where the home is in the city, it can be affordable to anybody. It’s a clear and straightforward way of describing what we mean – low-cost homes that people on a minimum wage can afford.”

Find out more about the Manchester Living Rent

End Child Poverty Coalition: Action Toolkit

by Rachel Walters, End Child Poverty Coalition Coordinator

The End Child Poverty coalition have launched their Action Toolkit, written for young people, by young people. This aims to encourage young people to understand the root causes of child poverty and develop campaigning solutions to address them.

You can download the whole toolkit, or individual sessions here.

Government data shows that across the UK there were 3.9 million children living in poverty (after housing costs) between April 2020 and April 2021, which is a staggering 27% of all children.

Yet the needs of children and young people are often ignored by decision makers. For example there was no mention of child poverty in the ‘Levelling Up’ white paper, and recent costs of living interventions are being made without taking into account the number of children living in each family. The Action Toolkit was developed by several End Child Poverty Youth Ambassadors, with support from Dr Gill Main from Leeds University. Youth Ambassadors are young people who work alongside the coalition to ensure that the voices of 16 – 24-year-olds are heard by those is positions of power.

You can work through each session in order, or pick and choose activities to suit your group set up. The Toolkit is also designed so it can be used for groups were some people may have personal experience of living in poverty, and where others perhaps do not.

The sessions end with guidance on how the group could develop a campaign to tackle the root causes of child poverty in the UK.

By Sheenagh Young, CEO South Manchester Credit Union

South Manchester Credit Union has been running a proof of concept for the proposed No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) which aims to provide access to affordable credit for people on low income in England.

Our community credit union was started 21 years ago by volunteers and today we have a staff team of 10 and a high street presence on Fog Lane, Burnage. Our membership now numbers 4,500 and our combined savings are totalling nearly £5m. We are building community wealth. We are rooted in this place; our senior leadership and staff all live here and the life chances of the people of South Manchester really matter to us.

We were chosen by Fair4AllFinance to be the organisation to run the proof of concept for the No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) in England which aims to test initial learnings ahead of a full pilot to be launched later this year. Fair4AllFinance has joined with Toynbee Hall and Fair By Design to scope and deliver the pilot which is funded by HM Treasury (£3.8m) and JP Morgan Chase (£1.2m).

The scheme is the first of its kind in the UK and has drawn inspiration from research conducted by London Economics. NILS aims to benefit individuals and society by providing a safe line of affordable credit to people on a low income to clear financial hurdles such as rent deposit, up front nursery fees and household equipment. Removing the burden of interest can make a difference to the ability to repay.

But isn’t it true that a loan from a credit union doesn’t carry much interest anyway? To give an example, a £300 loan repaid at £10 per week, with interest at 42.6% APR on the reducing balance, results in an interest charge of £34. We know that there are times when this can seem daunting even though we consider it a fair rate. This is why we wanted to take part in an innovative solution that could sit well alongside our current service offering.

So here is what we have found out so far about how NILS works – we have called our product a Stepping Stone Loan.

• We knew this already but it is really tough out there right now and there is little safe help from organisations that listen and offer appropriate finance in a dignified way.
• Stepping Stone Loan applicants have a range of unique circumstances including living with disabilities, caring responsibilities, recovering from relationship breakdown and domestic violence, returning to work, homeless, bereaved and longing to fund a decent funeral for a loved one. Our very first applicant, Lisa, has shared her story on our website.
• 87% of applicants have poor or very poor credit scores which means it is exceptionally challenging for them to access credit they can afford to repay. People can get trapped in this cycle of exclusion.
• Listening to a person’s needs and coming alongside to coach through financial squeezes is empowering and can kickstart a new confidence with money. Paying no interest is a boost.
• The scheme works well to widen the gateway to credit union membership and has allowed us to approve a further third of first time loan applicants who might have otherwise been declined. This gives them an opportunity to engage with us, to start a savings habit and to build the financial resilience we know comes from belonging to a credit union.
• The product has potential for partnership working with social housing providers, employers and other local stakeholders.

Sheenagh Young, CEO SMCU

If you are not already switched on to credit unions this is a great time to get informed and you are lucky that we have a well developed consortium here in GM known as SoundPound

• On a low income? – join your local credit union, save and borrow if you need to
• Finances doing ok? – join, save and borrow if you need to – borrowing from us gets you great rates and service and you will get the satisfaction of knowing we will use all of our income to offer the inclusive financial services which are sorely needed
• Don’t want to join in yet? – find out more about how it works
• In a position to refer? – consider signposting to us
• Advocate? – get involved and shout about us.

Greater Manchester Pension Top Up campaign 2022

By Greater Manchester Ageing Hub

People in Greater Manchester are being urged to check if they are eligible for pension top up payments after figures revealed approximately 36,000 qualifying households are missing out on around £70m in unclaimed Pension Credit.

Greater Manchester Housing Providers, a partnership of 24 social housing providers, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority, through its Ageing Hub, have launched an awareness raising campaign to encourage older people to take up pension age benefits. The Pension Top Up campaign is being is being rolled out across the city region and is supported by Independent Age, Age UK, and Citizens Advice.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “With so much pressure on household finances, it’s vital that older people are getting all the money they are entitled to. A third of those eligible for pension credit in Greater Manchester aren’t claiming, with many missing out on income from attendance allowance and housing benefit too. If you own your own home or have a private pension you could still be eligible, so please take a moment now and check – for yourself or your loved ones. It’s going to be another tough winter, and getting this top-up could make all the difference.”

The main reason older people don’t claim is that they don’t think they are eligible. When it comes to finance and benefits, older people are most likely to respond to one-to-one prompting from family and friends or from trusted local contacts. The campaign encourages everyone to ask their older family, friends and customers, ‘have you topped up?’.

Jean, aged 86, from Gorton said: “Pension Credit has helped me with lots of the costs including food, clothing and bedding. My son helped me fill the forms out – I wouldn’t be able to do it without his help.”

Pension credit is designed to bring the weekly income of pensioners up to a minimum amount and could make those eligible £34 a week better off on average. In addition to the extra weekly cash, Pension Credit also unlocks other financial benefits including a free TV licence for over 75s, council tax support, and money towards green home insulation.

Karen Mitchell, Greater Manchester Housing Providers’ Ageing Well Lead and Chief Executive of Southway Housing Trust, said: “For many people that bit of extra income can make a crucial difference between struggling to pay the bills and living more comfortably”.

To check if you or someone you are close to is getting all the entitlements they are due, contact your local social housing provider or Independent Age freephone helpline 0800 319 6789  or go to the website

Also check out this list of tips about ways to save money – despite the name of the website, none of the tips are about equity release.

Employment Legal Advice Service

By Naomi Ilagoswa, Head of Strategic Partnerships & External Projects, The Growth Company

The Growth Company together with Citizens Advice Manchester, Citizens Advice Bury and Bolton and a network of legal partners, have set up Employment Legal Advice – a new service to help individuals across Greater Manchester to access free employment-related legal support. The service is designed to help you access the right advice at the right time as quickly and easily as possible. They have supported people with a wide range of employment issues including discrimination, unpaid wages, dismissal, bullying, contractual issues, harassment, long term sickness, redundancy and pregnancy.

Of those who contact the service; 35% are disabled or have a health condition, 13% speak English as a second language and 17% work in a low paid industry

Hayley Hughes, Head of Business Development & Local Services, Citizen’s Advice Manchester:  “Our key reason for partnering on this project was an increase in the demand for employment advice, although this specific increase was generated by the pandemic, we have long been aware that there is a gap in access to employment (legal) advice in Manchester.  Unfortunately, when people encounter an employment issue, they are often left with nowhere else to turn other than fee paying solicitors.  Many of the people who access this service simply do not have the financial means to instruct a solicitor and therefore often they will not pursue their case.”

Stockport Homes also commented: “The free Employment Legal Advice Service provided has been exceptional.  The empathic, professional, supportive and efficient service the customers have received has not only resulted in successful outcomes but also provided reassurance, hope, clarity and direction at a time when customers are feeling most vulnerable, overwhelmed and unable to cope.”

For more information please visit the website.

By Zhané Edwards, Parliamentary Assistant, Child Poverty Action Group

In his spring statement, the Chancellor added £500 million to the household support fund, which started out as a pot of money given to councils to support families during the pandemic. This was an insufficient response to the challenges families are facing, given prices are rising at pace and benefits will not increase at the same rate. But what is the role of this type of support? And how should it be delivered? That was what our Ending the need for food banks project set out to answer.

Emergency support can in no way be treated as a replacement for an adequate social security system, but it does play a vital role in that system. It should help families through one-off shocks that cause a sudden drop in income or increase in costs, such as the onset of a health problem or the washing machine breaking down. In practice, however, many families are not getting the support they need when they need it. This is contributing to the rising demand for food banks.

Emergency support varies greatly across the UK. Both Scotland and Wales have a centrally coordinated emergency hardship fund: the Scottish welfare fund and discretionary assistance fund, respectively. In comparison, England puts the onus on local authorities to provide emergency support, but because provision isn’t statutory and budgets are already stretched, many local authorities simply do not run a scheme. Access to emergency support in England is therefore a postcode lottery. At least 32 local authorities, one in five, now have no scheme whatsoever. Even when there is a local welfare assistance scheme, the reach is limited due to chronic underfunding, especially in comparison to Wales and Scotland. Before the pandemic, spending in England per capita was far lower than in Scotland and Wales.

The UK government did give local authorities more money to support people in the pandemic, including via the household support fund, but these pots of money have all been short term and ad hoc. They have provided no security to local authorities nor their residents who need this crucial support.

How can we improve this picture? We need a long-term funding settlement for emergency support. And we need changes to the way emergency support is delivered too.

Something that kept coming up in our research was the importance of dignity. Many people in poverty feel shame when going to a food bank. If properly funded emergency support was in place, people in crisis would be able to receive a cash grant from their local authority to give them the flexibility and agency in a financial emergency.

“People asking for emergency help have been through enough without being made to feel like we don’t trust them to choose the right baked beans.” – Citizens’ jury participant

“Choice is what gives us dignity, don’t take that choice away from people.” – Citizens’ jury participant

We are calling for a review into emergency support in England and Wales (Scotland has already commissioned a review), and for best practice to be shared among local authorities. It’s also essential that the support on offer across local authorities in England is made more consistent.

As we brace ourselves for a further rise in the cost of energy, food and other basics, we must ensure that benefits rise in line with inflation. Social security adequacy needs addressing at a fundamental level. Extending the household support fund was a completely inadequate response to the challenges low-income families are facing. But a properly funded emergency support system must also be there to help families when they face an income shock and provide them with the support they need so they don’t have to resort to a food bank.

You can read the project’s final report here.