Update:

If you are interested in knowing how businesses from across the world are handling their links with Russia, you can find out more here.

Spirit of Manchester Grants 2022

Five £1,000 Spirit of Manchester grants are available to voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in the city that work with refugees and asylum seekers. The aim of this fund is simply to put some much needed resources into those organisations and capture stories which will raise awareness of the issues faced by refugees and asylum seekers and the work which is being done to provide support, safety and welcome. Apply here. Deadline April 28th 12pm.

Greater Manchester Community Response Fund: Ukraine Crisis

In response to the crisis in Ukraine, 10GM and partners are working together to put in place welcome and support for people arriving in Greater Manchester, working alongside local authorities and those who are offering to accommodate people arriving from Ukraine.

To help this work Macc have launched the Greater Manchester Community Response Fund: Ukraine Crisis. This fundraising campaign will raise money to create a hardship fund for people arriving from Ukraine and to provide small grants to local voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations that are playing an active, practical role in providing support.

You can help by donating here and sharing with your friends, family and colleagues.

Ukraine Support

Here are ways of providing financial support for the people of Ukraine:

DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal: This appeal is on behalf of many organisations such as the Red Cross, ActionAid, Save the Children, Islamic Relief, Christian Aid etc. The British public raised £200 million in the first two weeks but the collection is ongoing.

UK-Med’s Ukraine Appeal: UK-Med is a humanitarian healthcare charity based out of the University of Manchester. UK-Med currently have a health assessment team in Poland, working with partners to anticipate the emergency health needs caused by the unfolding crisis. UK-Med have launched their emergency appeal which has been backed by the GM Mayor, Andy Burnham and the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. UK-Med has more than 25 years-experience responding to health emergencies around the world and drawing from a register ofnearly 1000 NHS and international health experts are ready to respond to the crisis unfolding in Europe.

Europia’s fundraiser for Ukraine: Europia is raising funds to support Ukrainians, both those in the country and refugees in Poland, Romania and Moldova. The funds raised will be divided equally between Ukraine, Poland, Moldova and Romania to support civil society organisations working on the ground.

The Cost of the school day in England: Pupils’ Perspectives

A report by the Child Poverty Action Group

Child Poverty Action Group’s (CPAG’s) Cost of the School Day project works with schools and local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales to ensure that all children, regardless of financial background, can take part and be happy at school. ​The Cost of the School Day in England: Pupils’ Perspectives is a report focusing on the research so far in England. It highlights some of the positive work being carried out by schools to ensure that opportunities are affordable and inclusive, while also drawing attention to the multitude of ways that pupils from low-income families face exclusion and stigma.​

CPAG hopes that by listening to the issues identified by children and young people, readers of this report will take action to bring about greater equity of experience and opportunity within our education system. ​A recorded webinar was held earlier in the month to coincide with the launch of the report, including excellent presentations by pupils.  The webinar can be viewed here.

Selected Findings
•  Curriculum and learning: Pupils experiencing poverty in England are financially excluded from full participation in a wide range of school subjects and activities, including PE, music, swimming and art and design. ​
•  Stigma: Day-to-day practices in English schools often unintentionally draw attention to family incomes and make children feel embarrassed and different. These include expensive uniform policies, non-uniform days and requirements to bring in material possessions like pencil cases. ​
•  School fun: Families are borrowing money to pay for school activities like school trips, not wanting children to lose out on these valuable learning opportunities.
•  School food: Policies and practices relating to food in school often mean that children experiencing poverty don’t have the same options as their peers at lunchtime.

Key recommendations for the Government
•  Provide funding to schools to ensure all curriculum-related costs are removed for pupils and all children have the resources and tools they need to fully participate in school activities both at home and at school. ​
•  Provide local authorities with additional funding and a statutory responsibility to help families with school costs through targeted initiatives such as school clothing grants and subsidies for trips. Initiatives like this already exist in all other UK nations. ​
•  Provide universal free school meals to school-aged children in England so that all pupils have equitable access to food while at school. ​
•  Provide a statutory framework, strategy and additional ring-fenced funding so schools in England can provide programmes, activities and services that go beyond the core function of classroom education, such as breakfast and after-school clubs.

Key recommendations for schools
•  Plan all teaching, events and activities with affordability and accessibility in mind. Wherever possible, remove or
minimise charging for school-related activities. ​
•  Explore and review current school costs. Take a holistic view of the school year and determine the cost of full
participation in school life. ​
•  Ensure that all staff, including non-teaching staff, are aware of the nature, causes, extent and impact of poverty
and how to reduce the stigma that children can face in school. ​
•  Provide meaningful opportunities for pupils and families to give feedback on their experience of school with a
focus on school costs. ​

Lived Experience Employment Podcast Series by Inspiring Change Manchester

Inspiring Change Manchester designed the GROW Traineeship programme to help break down barriers into work for people with lived experience of multiple disadvantages. The programme created paid placements to provide practical experience and the support and guidance to secure further paid employment, while drawing on their lived expertise to improve our practices as an organisation. The team worked closely with the Elephants Trail to co-produce a series of podcasts that delves into the realities of lived experience employment, both in terms raising awareness of the benefits of it for organisations and people alike, while also tackling the more challenging aspects of delivering programmes like these successfully. Details about each episode and links to listen can be found below.

Episode One – “Intro to ICM and the GROW Programme”
What the GROW programme is in more depth and what can be expected from the rest of the series.

Episode Two – “The Glass Ceiling”
Is there is a glass ceiling for people with lived experience of multiple disadvantage when wanting to further their career. This episode explores the changes that can be made in workplace practice and culture to open up opportunities for people with lived experience and enable them to progress in their career.

Episode Three – “Lose the Labels”
With more organisations wanting to employ individuals with lived experience to improve services, this episode explores how it feels to be employed in those roles and carry that ‘label’. Also discussed are how employers can better support staff with lived experience, the importance of choice and having ownership over sharing individual stories, and the recognition of the value that individuals with lived experience bring to the table.

Episode Four – “Barriers and Benefits”
The final episode is looking at the barriers and benefits of lived experience employment, as the myths and misconceptions about employing people with lived experience are explored.

Andy Burnham

Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, has announced a series of major steps to move Greater Manchester towards a London-style public transport system with London-level bus fares, including the announcement that under a franchised bus network adult single journeys would cost no more than £2, and child single journeys no more than £1.

The move will be the first step towards the Greater Manchester public being able to access a more affordable public transport network.

The Mayor is also expected to set out a revised timetable for the introduction of bus
franchising, which will see:

•  Regulated buses in Bolton and Wigan as well as parts of Salford and west Manchester from autumn 2023;

•  Bury, Rochdale, Oldham and areas of north Manchester to follow in Spring 2024

•  Stockport, Trafford, Tameside, South Manchester and remaining parts of Salford to run by end of 2024

Andy Burnham said: “We will make travelling by public transport more appealing, easier and, significantly, put our people before profits.”

Transformed bus services is a key pillar of the Bee Network vision, which aims to provide real public transport and active travel choices for all; promote sustainable travel behavioural change through integrated city-region planning; support the electrification of vehicles and public transport fleets; promotes levelling up through the provision of sustainable transport connectivity to key growth locations and the provision of affordable public transport options for all our communities.

Greater Manchester will have a new Transport Commissioner, with former Transport for London (TfL) Managing Director of Customers, Communication and Technology, Vernon Everitt, set to take a leading role in the delivery of the Bee Network.

The Mayor is also set to announce a new Active Travel Commissioner at today’s New Era event.

Vernon Everitt, the Mayor’s new Transport Commissioner, said: “It is a privilege to be given the responsibility to help write the next chapter of Greater Manchester’s ambitious and truly transformational transport story. The Bee Network vision sets out a compelling plan for better transport and I will bring all my experience to the table to ensure we deliver it.

“Our integrated transport network will unlock access to opportunity and public services, and drive reduced carbon emissions and improved wellbeing, benefitting everyone who lives, works or visits here. I look forward to working with the mayor, councils, transport operators and people across Greater Manchester to deliver a world class public transport system.”

More detail is available here.

Tameside council offer support to ‘in work’ families to improve employment situation

By Iain Forrest Partnership and Engagement Officer, Tameside MBC

Poverty doesn’t end once people go into employment so why does employment support stop? Tameside have launched a new programme aimed at supporting Tameside residents that are in employment but need support due to low income, low hours, short term contracts, health conditions or to find something that is more suited to their skills.

Over 2 million workers across the UK are on zero hour or short-term contracts, the vast majority of whom would benefit from more stable income

Commissioned by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), the 12 month initiative is the first of its kind in Tameside. It will gather evidence around the most effective ways of supporting people who are in work on low pay to progress and increase their earnings.

150 Tameside residents, who are already in employment can volunteer to participate and receive support from the scheme.

The ‘in work’ trained advisers will support participants to explore their career aspirations, identify skills gaps and development opportunities within their current employment or an alternative role.   The ‘In Work’ team aim to build links with charities, community groups, training providers, housing providers, employment support providers and local employers to raise awareness and create partnerships.

Cllr Oliver Ryan, Tameside Council Executive Member for Finance and Economic Growth said: “This is a fantastic initiative for us to be involved with which will help residents grow in confidence at work and develop their skills. Helping them to grow their skills will only strengthen our local workforce and give the participants further opportunities when looking for work or changing roles with their current employer”.

A DWP spokesperson said: “We’re pleased to be working with Tameside Council to offer this exciting initiative to 150 local residents seeking to progress in work and increase their earnings. The evidence and learnings from Tameside will be valuable for informing future action as we continue to level up opportunity across the country and support people – at any age and any career stage – to maximise their potential through our multi-billion pound Plan for Jobs”.

If you are working with someone that is ‘stuck in a rut’ and needs support to make changes in their career please contact Iain Forrest or the In Work team.

Street Support Network Greater Manchester launch new ‘Advice for Families’

By Gary Dunstan, Street Support

At the start of 2020, emphasis focused on people sleeping rough in Greater Manchester prompted us to look at how homelessness affects families. The Shared Health Foundation Gold Standard report estimated:

∙ 2,742 children were living in temporary accommodation in Greater Manchester;

∙ Two years is considered an average ‘temporary’ placement;

The number of homeless families across Greater Manchester exceeded 1,500, with evidence showing hidden homeless people and hidden households equated to 10 times higher than official statistics. It was also estimated that there are twice as many homeless families than there are rough sleepers. According to Greater Manchester Homelessness Action Network (GMHAN) from May 2020, there was a 20% increase in homeless families across Greater Manchester.

In the last three years, the number of homeless families in Manchester has risen from approximately 144 to 1,250 and falls within the top 50 local authorities in England by rate of children who are homeless.

“Statistics indicate 1 in 59 children in Manchester are homeless or in temporary accommodation.”

As part of GMHAN we started to work with Shared Health Foundation to understand the issues faced by families who become homeless. It was identified that many families experiencing or at risk of homelessness are placed in emergency and temporary accommodation, both in and out of their original area. Often, they have no idea of the resources available, and the situation can be even harder to navigate when they have no local connection. This also results in making it harder for them to come out of homelessness.

It was for this reason, we decided to co-design and develop a family specific section on the Street Support website with targeted information and advice, easy ways to find relevant services and local resources near to where families are being placed.

Our idea was for the new section to be aimed at families experiencing or at risk of homelessness and anyone who might assist them, such as health workers, community volunteers and accommodation providers. Our intention was to provide advice to navigate the situation and location-specific support to resolve it.

Due to Shared Health’s knowledge in this area, they authored the content which is featured on the database. We acknowledge that we may not have captured all services at this stage, so we do encourage organisations to request to have their services featured by completing this online form.

Beth Knowles, Strategic Lead for Homeless Families, from Shared Health said “The experiences of families are largely invisible in public and policy discussions of homelessness. Families are often displaced to temporary accommodation far from their existing support networks with damaging effects on their education, health and wellbeing. We hope the new Street Support Families website will increase awareness of families’ needs and help them to rebuild vital support.”

It’s a huge concern that this problem is getting worse. If this works and families get the help they need in Greater Manchester, we hope other Street Support Network locations would be interested in implementing it for their cities and regions.

Now having a model to work from, we see that we could expand to reach more people such as women, youths and veterans across the whole of our Network. If you would like to talk about developing a new section on Street Support Network, please do get in touch with us.

An Introduction to GaMHive

GaMHive was launched in January 2022. Their members have been brought together through their experience with gambling-related harm. Their mission is to signpost those affected, either directly or indirectly by gambling, to organisations that could offer support with regards to counselling, education, recovery, and staying well. They aim to address the stigma associated with gambling addiction and by doing so, encourage others to seek help.  The support services which are signposted, are accessible to everyone and the support can be tailored to meet the individual’s needs.

The initiative is from the Greater Manchester area with the hope of providing a service to the community in that region. They aim to raise awareness of the negative impact of advertising to vulnerable individuals, the detrimental harm of subliminal advertising, and the easy access of gambling products to the young, in particular.

They will be working alongside other support organisations, such as NHS gambling service, Beacon counselling, Gamblers Anonymous, and GamFam, to name a few, to provide a holistic approach to the support offered so that those accessing support would find the service that is suitable for them.

For more information please visit their website.

GaMHive’s core aims are to:

• Raise awareness and reduce stigma of gambling related harm in Greater Manchester
• Collaborate and signpost those experiencing gambling related harm, either as a gambler or an affected other, towards support and guidance organisations
• Advocate for lasting policy change locally and nationally
• To give voices of lived experience the opportunity to contribute to the development of research, education and treatment services within Greater Manchester

By Simon Watts, Public Health Registrar, Greater Manchester

A study published in the Lancet in November 2021 presented important findings for action at a local, regional and national level. It is well established that poverty has negative health implications for children. However, this study sought to understand how poverty interacted and clustered with other health risk factors, potentially exacerbating the impact of poverty on children’s health issues even further.

Data from the already-established Millennium Cohort Study was used to analyse health outcomes for a cohort of 11,564 families who had children born between September 2000 and January 2002. The children were followed up in terms of their health and living situation until their 14th birthday.

During the 14 years of follow up, questions were asked about levels of poverty in the family and about three indicators of family adversity: poor parental mental health, domestic violence/abuse and frequency of parental alcohol use. Physical and mental health outcomes for the children were measured at age 14 using well established methods. Health outcomes of interest were socioemotional behavioural problems, cognitive disability, obesity, and/or experimentation with alcohol and drugs.

More than half of the children in the study experienced one or more of the exposures to poverty. These negative exposures were associated with worse child physical, mental, cognitive and behavioural outcomes compared to those children with no exposure.

Over 40% of children were exposed to poverty and/or parental mental health problems throughout childhood. The most common exposure was poverty (34.6%) which made a child twice as likely to experience the poor health outcomes described above (except for alcohol and drug experimentation). Similarly, children who were exposed to poor parental mental health were twice as likely to experience those same poor health outcomes. The 11.1% of children who were exposed to both poor parental mental health and poverty were more than six times as likely to develop mental health problems themselves, and twice as likely to become obese or experience cognitive disability.

The paper touches on why poverty and mental health issues may both exist for some families. Some of the linkages between the two may be obvious, such as the stress of managing household finances or the depression that may be associated with losing one’s job and income. However, the paper also references that poor mental health can lead to poverty, through loss of employment for example. This is supported by other research findings which show that those with mental health illness are less likely to be employed, even more so with more severe illness.

This study provides a stark reminder of the strong link between poverty and poor health outcomes and is particularly harrowing given these poor outcomes are being evidenced in children. While there are a range of factors that impact health, the strength of the relationship between poverty and child health, and parental mental health and child health, should not be ignored.

Interventions to address poverty will have a positive health impact, and while they could cost the system money to deliver in the short term, the benefits will be seen through reduced stress on the health and social care system in the long run. Given the high proportion of children exposed to poverty and the poor health outcomes associated with this later in their life, policy makers must focus on interventions that seek to prevent and reduce poverty when aiming to improve population health.

The authors of the study highlight the critical importance of not seeing child’s health issues in isolation. To be successful, interventions to address children’s socioemotional behavioural problems, cognitive disability, obesity or alcohol/drug use need to consider more broadly the socioeconomic conditions of the family and other structural factors which may be causing the ill health, and how these wider issues can be addressed. Interventions that do this will be more effective than those that just focus on one risk or one problem.

Simon Watts

The fact that health outcomes are much worse when poverty and parental mental health issues are both at play, supports a holistic approach being taken which ensures families are supported when both issues are present. This could be money management support teams offering brief intervention and signposting around mental health, or primary care practitioners ensuring that residents with mental health issues are offered income maximisation support, housing advice or other social issues that may be interacting with their poor mental health.

To read the article in full click here.

Exploring New Narratives On Child Poverty
Wednesday February 16th, 2022 online event from 12.30 – 2pm

Even before the pandemic, 4.3 million children were growing up experiencing poverty in the UK.  Whilst attitudes to poverty have slightly increased in sympathy over the last 10 years, support for significant policy interventions such as a more generous welfare system has been limited. The prevailing view amongst the public is the assumption that families make ‘bad choices’, rather than that a lack of money inhibits opportunities for children and families.

To create more support for children and their families we need a powerful new narrative that can help stop the blame game. One that can reduce beliefs that child poverty is simply the fault of the parents and increase the belief that families living in poverty deserve help from the state. But how do we do that?

Save the Children will be sharing findings from their new report which explores new narratives on child poverty at a webinar on Wednesday February 16th, 2022. This research developed and tested different messages with key swing voter audiences to see which have the strongest potential to create a change in thinking.

In this webinar they will be sharing the ideas that key swing audience’s currently hold on children and families in poverty and what new narrative and messaging resonates with them and could help create a change in public attitudes and they want to hear what tools and resources could help you adopt a new narrative

What’s new about this research?  This report builds on the research of Joseph Rowntree Foundation on how to talk about
poverty, with a specific child poverty focused lens. It explores how new narratives might work with all the changes the British public have experienced as a result of the COVID pandemic.

GMPA published information about Child Poverty Statistics across the UK in May 2021. The article is available here

Unforeseen life events plunge over 15 million into financial insecurity

A new report from national poverty charity, Turn2us, reveals how over 15 million people in the UK have experienced at least one life event in the past two years that has left them struggling to cope financially.

The research shows that women, disabled people, certain minoritised ethnic groups and young people, are the worst affected by the financial impact of life events, such as bereavement, illness, a relationship breakdown, or unemployment.

64% of women have experienced financial insecurity following a life event, compared to just over half of men (55%). In ethnic groups the figure was 76%, for disabled it was 72% and for young people aged between 25 to 34   75%.  For people aged 55 and over the figure dropped to 46%.

The publication of the charity’s report comes just weeks after the Covid-19 furlough scheme ended, and the £20 Universal Credit uplift was cut. Its findings show how life events can plunge people into financial insecurity, particularly those who are already struggling to make ends meet, and that there are barriers to people accessing the support they need.

Thomas Lawson, Turn2us Chief Executive commented: “In the absence of long-term solutions that prevent people being plunged into financial insecurity, we urge the government to mandate Local Welfare Assistance schemes, with an additional £250m of ringfenced funding each year. This will enable councils to step in and help prevent families from having to make difficult choices between putting food on the table and paying their bills, because of life events that are beyond their control.”

Karen Isaacs, a Turn2us co-production partner with lived experience of financial insecurity, comments: “After a car crash left me unable to work, I had to quickly find ways to support myself financially. My initial claim for Universal Credit was not straightforward and caused a lot of stress at a time when I was under so much pressure from all sides. With no job and no money to support myself, while also being in a lot of pain, my mental health was absolutely at breaking point. I felt completely without any dignity, especially at my age – in my 60s – when I should have been receiving my pension.

“Now over three years later, I am still struggling and still trying to get a job. Recent cuts to Universal Credit have made matters worse and it is almost impossible to get help from anywhere for people in my position. This means yet another winter and Christmas struggling for money and worrying constantly.”

The survey findings also suggest that shame and stigma are a barrier to seeking support. It also reveals the coping behaviours people use to get by: almost 50% of those surveyed relied on a credit card to cover day-to day-spending after the financial impact; 23% took out a payday loan; more than one third (36%) missed bills or debt repayments with 14% reporting missing repayments more than twice; and 9% had used a payday loan or another form of high-cost credit more than twice.

44% of the people who found it difficult or impossible to cover the costs of the life event did not seek support at all.

The life events research was undertaken by Turn2us to better understand the impact of life events on people’s finances, how they cope, and what measures they need to support them. The survey and interviews explored a broad range of events that have an impact on people’s finances in the areas of health, work, family, housing and legal circumstances. Read the full report here.