By Professor John McKendrick, Co-Director at the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit

Last month, the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit (SPIRU) at Glasgow Caledonian University – a longstanding supporter and friend of GMPA – launched the Tackling Poverty Locally Directory, which aims to become the go-to place to learn about projects aiming to tackle poverty locally. 

The Directory launches with 20 case studies, including Tameside Council’s Slow Cooker Project (One Pot at a Time) and Tameside Council’s Poverty Needs Assessment and Strategy. Many more case studies are being processed, with the Directory aiming to release new content on a regular basis.

The Directory does not only showcase work from local authorities: it also includes case studies from community organisations (e.g., Fa’Side Community Kitchen), charities over large areas (e.g., Fife Gingerbread’s Lone Parents, Poverty and Work), local NHS Boards (e.g., NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s Staff Crisis Fund), social enterprises / community trusts (e.g., The Point and Sandwick Energy Support Unit), schools (e.g., Brae High School’s Maximising Income for Families) and local partnerships (e.g., the Anti-Poverty Taskforce in Perth and Kinross).

The Directory aims to showcase different types of action being undertaken to tackle poverty locally. Among the 20 case studies included in the launch are projects that have been set up to tackle food insecurity, reduce stigma, assist people into employment, deliver financial inclusion, tackle housing costs, and address the cost of living. All content is quality assured, with inclusion following an independent review from one practitioner and one researcher.

We recognise the importance of raising awareness of emerging practice, as well as sharing information of practice that has proven to be impactful. What might start off as a good idea (“emerging practice”), might begin to show signs of positive impact (“promising practice”). As the project matures, evidence of impact may be more substantial and verified by independent evaluation (“fully validated”), which may lead to it being replicated elsewhere (“fully validated and adopted”). We intend to track the development of our case studies and share this progression through the Directory.

We provide a concise summary of each case study, including a summary of impact and list of key learning points, in addition to all the descriptive detail needed to understand the case study (e.g., cost, population groups served, whether co-produced with people experiencing poverty, etc.). A How-to-Guide for each case study provides detailed guidance to assist others who might be interested in adapting or adopting the initiative.

It is crucial that best practice in anti-poverty work is shared amongst localities, but it cannot be ignored that the key to a successful, long-term approach that alleviates poverty and prevents people experiencing poverty in the first place is underpinned by a robust anti-poverty strategy. SPIRU was delighted to inform the research that went into GMPA’s seminal report, looking at effective local anti-poverty strategies and continues to advocate for anti-poverty programmes to be incorporated into localities alongside strong strategic responses to poverty. Contact Tom at GMPA if you’d like support in developing your strategic responses to poverty.

The Directory would not have been possible without the support of the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust. The Directory can be accessed here.

This article is featured in our 13 December newsletter. To get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our mailing list.

By Joe Cox, Senior Policy Officer (Household Debt) at Debt Justice

The UK is highly unequal. Our economy creates and reinforces power, income, and wealth imbalances along intersecting regional, class, gender and racial lines.

Layered on top of this deep inequality, a cost-of-living crisis is now forcing more of us to borrow, delay paying bills and juggle our finances to try to make ends meet. Until very recently, inflation has been rising much faster than wages, turbo-charging the household debt crisis. 12.8 million people are now behind on bills or finding their debt repayments a heavy financial and emotional burden.

Creating the necessary public support and political will to tackle this crisis requires that we talk about the issue in the right way. Our latest Debt Messaging Guide developed with the New Economy Organising Network, James Robertson and the Public Interest Research Centre is a resource developed with this mission in mind.

The guide suggests several ‘framing principles’ and values for forming a convincing argument for tackling the household debt crisis. Self-determination is a widely held value that can bring a broad group of people onside when talking about debt. People that may not have experienced heavy debt, can often relate to the human drive to pursue our goals, to take care of our family and to access the things we all need to lead our version of a good life. This allows us to set up debt as something that inhibits our journey through life.

It is always vital to challenge the strongly held belief of individual responsibility – that people choose to go into or “fall” into debt. Instead, we should be clear that the debt crisis has been created by government (in)action. Cuts to welfare and public services, lack of affordable housing, skyrocketing prices and suppressed incomes have forced people to borrow money just to pay for the essentials.

The government has set these conditions for the debt traps that so many people are now caught in. People who, with no other choice but to borrow or fall behind on bills, are sitting ducks for extortionate lenders, exploitative ‘debt solution’ mis-sellers and heavy-handed debt collectors.

Due to the social stigma and guilt associated with indebtedness, people can feel a moral responsibility to put their aspirations on hold for years or decades as they try harder and harder to pay off unpayable debt. Debt and mental distress also go hand in hand, creating a vicious cycle as the mental health impacts lead to further financial, social and health difficulties. Elevating personal stories that speak to the damaging effect of the debt trap in people’s own voices is fundamental and can help reduce stigma and isolation.

We should also avoid fatalism by highlighting our victories. Together we have already successfully campaigned to cap the cost of credit and we have driven many exploitative high-cost lenders and ‘rent to own’ businesses out of our communities. People came together, picketed, lobbied and organised to make that happen. This shows us that if we build our collective power and talk about the household debt crisis in a persuasive and powerful way, we can overcome it.

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By Daniel Oliver, Head of Programmes at Greater Manchester Poverty Action (GMPA)

GMPA’s Money Matters programme has so far helped Trafford and Manchester families to gain £201,317 in household income.

Our Money Matters programme launched in June 2022 and has since gone from strength to strength, delivering debt and benefit advice in and via local schools to reach those who may not otherwise access advice and support services.

Our Financial Inclusion Officer, Manjeet McCartney, has been active in local schools to promote and deliver this service, including having a presence at parents’ evenings and other school events.

To date, Money Matters has secured gains for local families including the following:

• Jayne and Stuart are married and live in a housing association property with their three children, one of whom is living with disabilities. They contacted Money Matters as they were struggling with the rising cost of living. A benefit check found that they were claiming what they were entitled to in legacy benefits, however that they would be better off if they transferred to claiming Universal Credit. In total, the change to claiming Universal Credit led to an additional £321 per month for their family, or £3,852 per year.
• Emma lost her job shortly before contacting Money Matters. She had already applied for Universal Credit, however we found that she was also eligible for Council Tax Support. Emma had always worked and was unsure of what she may also be entitled to, as she thought that the Universal Credit process would identify any additional entitlements. With the support of Money Matters, Emma accessed Council Tax Support worth £901.44 a year for her family, alongside a one-off top-up of £49 for her gas meter.
• Jackie is a mother of four children, with two of the children living with disabilities. Money Matters helped Jackie to access additional Child Element on her Universal Credit as two of the children are twins, and to access an additional Disabled Child Element. In total, the gains for Jackie’s family are worth £11,297.40 per year. We are now supporting Jackie to access backdated payments worth over £3,000. Jackie said:

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.. The outcome you helped us reach is genuinely life changing.”

We are pleased that Money Matters has been able to support families who have an increased risk of experiencing poverty. This includes 42% of families supported by Money Matters having someone in their household living with a long-term health condition or disability, and 49% of families being from ethnic minorities.

As part of GMPA’s strategic priority to boost household incomes and financial resilience, we are expanding Money Matters to support more families with maximising their household income. This includes extending the programme to more Trafford schools and to Stockport and Rochdale. In line with our theory of change, we are using learning from the programme to advocate for a greater focus among funders and decision makers on locating advice services within trusted community settings, including in schools. To support this we are co-hosting a parliamentary roundtable in January. Watch this space for more details.

Thank you to Kellogg’s for their ongoing support for Money Matters since its launch, our new funding partners and to Citizens Advice SORT (Stockport, Oldham, Rochdale and Trafford) for enabling delivery of the advice offer.

If you are interested in bringing Money Matters to your community then please contact Daniel Oliver.

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By Jo Garsden, Programme Manager at Greater Manchester Ageing Hub

In my work around financial hardship, which is supported by national charity Independent Age, I’ve been struck by how few older people are willing to speak openly about their money worries.  

This tendency to shy away from talking about financial struggles is not limited to those in later life, but I believe it is unhelpful and only increases the isolation felt by those caught in the current cost-of-living crisis.

A recent YouGov poll commissioned by Independent Age demonstrates both the financial strain on many older people and a resistance to ask for help. The poll found that nationally, 1 in 7 people aged over 65 were reliant on loans and credit cards to make ends meet, with more than half (57%) of respondents also saying they wouldn’t feel comfortable asking friends or family for support.

I see this pattern reflected when I speak with older people about the huge sums of unclaimed Pension Credit in Greater Manchester. The conversation inevitably turns to the stigma, embarrassment, and shame many of their generation feel about claiming benefits. But if we can make talking about money more normal, could we create more safe opportunities for older people in financial crisis to speak up? And could these conversations lead to more of us in later life receiving crucial support and claiming the benefits we are entitled to?

The scale of the opportunity is vast – an estimated £70 million goes unclaimed in Greater Manchester each year, with around 36,000 households eligible but not claiming. Over the past few years, GMCA’s Ageing Hub has facilitated the Pension Top Up and Winterwise campaigns to help resource councils, housing providers, the voluntary sector, and other organisations. So far, over £10 million per year of additional income has been claimed by older residents in GM. Despite the focus on Pension Credit, more income has been generated through take up of Attendance Allowance and Housing Benefit, suggesting even larger sums of money go unclaimed.

It’s so powerful for decision-makers to hear from older people about their lives, so I am thankful for a new report from Independent Age, ‘Who wants to listen to me? Why England needs a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing’. Based on a series of listening events across England, including one in Greater Manchester, Independent Age sought to hear from older people about their most pressing issues. Not surprisingly, spirally costs came in the top three alongside transport and ageism.

Importantly for us, the report contains quotes from older people in Greater Manchester, given anonymously, around the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. It’s distressing reading and gives voice to the hidden anguish experienced by too many in our city region:

“I’m making cutbacks, just to survive. Even the things I need, I need to count the pennies.”

These quotes echo what we’ve been hearing from councils, the voluntary sector and housing providers – rising debt, high levels of fear and stress, older people cutting essential utilities and care support.

As we approach winter, it’s a good time to ask older people we know how they are managing, particularly around energy and food costs. Our talking tips guides (Winterwise Talking Tips guide and Keeping Well This Winter Talking Tips) suggest some simple conversation starters:

What’s on the menu tonight? How’s your appetite? Has your weekly shop gone up much?

Are you warm enough at home? Do you know about warm spaces in your area? Have you checked you are getting all you’re entitled to? Are you getting the best deal on your energy? Would you like help to get anything sorted?

It can really help to share our own experiences too. People of all ages have been hit by rising prices. Hearing how we have cut back, saved money, or found great deals can help reduce stigma. If we can normalise and even encourage talking about money pressures, perhaps older people will feel more comfortable asking for support.

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By Georgina Burt, Senior Education Policy Officer at Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG)

In a unique piece of collaborative research, for the first time the whole school workforce (including headteachers, senior leaders, teachers, governors, support staff, admin staff, school business managers, catering teams and facilities managers) were asked about the effect poverty has on their school and the pupils and families that they work with.

In total, more than 1,000 professionals working in schools across England shared their views via an online survey. This research was led by the Education Anti-Poverty Coalition and was carried out over the course of the summer term at the end of the 2022/23 academic year.

The results show that our school system is being thwarted by high levels of child poverty, with staff stretched and children’s learning and life chances being impacted.

The findings show the increasingly challenging context our schools are facing. Responses demonstrate that school staff are seeing child poverty levels in their schools increasing with more and more families struggling financially. School staff also reported that there are less support services available and that they have less capacity to help families, with staffing cuts being cited as one reason for this. As a result of this complex picture, school staff overwhelmingly believe that the learning of children in low-income households is being impacted:

• Almost all (89%) staff say child poverty in their school has increased in the last two academic years. (97% of head teachers/senior leaders, 95% of governors)
• 88% of school staff say more families in their school who previously appeared to be managing financially are now struggling to cope
• Three-quarters of school staff (74 per cent) say there is evidence that children growing up in poverty have fallen further behind their peers in learning in the last two years, compared to previous years.

It is against this backdrop that school staff are increasingly being diverted from their roles to deal with issues caused by poverty. Key findings include:

• 79% of school staff in England say time must be diverted from allocated roles to combat child poverty
• 68% of school staff say more pupils don’t have money for enough food at lunchtime
• 70% of head teachers say more parents asking for help with essentials like food and clothing
• 82% of school staff say government should do more for struggling families.

School staff across a variety of roles listed the ways in which they and their colleagues are being required to support families and pupils. From following up on dinner money debt, making referrals to specialist services, sourcing food bank vouchers and children’s clothes, applying for hardship grants, and even sourcing home equipment like washing machines – all of these tasks are pulling staff in our schools away from their designated responsibilities, leaving them with less time and capacity for other traditional parts of their roles.

Child Poverty Action Group established the Education Anti-Poverty Coalition to bring together organisations working across the education sector who share a deep concern about the impact that high levels of child poverty are having on our education system. Members of the coalition include organisations that represent school leaders, governors, teachers, support staff and parents. The coalition provides a unified and united voice, with all members in agreement that our pupils, families, staff and the school system as a whole is being hindered by the consequences of child poverty.

The findings of this survey demonstrate unequivocally that our schools cannot do it all and should not be expected to. Education professionals are going above and beyond to support families facing financial hardship, but this is taking a toll on our education system. School staff want to see families supported with school costs, free school meals extended and families with children offered more direct financial support.

Eradicating child poverty would unlock the potential held within our school system, allow our school staff to get back to their core roles, and all of our young people to flourish.

The full report can be accessed here.

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By Ivy Mullen, Policy and Research Assistant at Barnardo’s

In December we set up an emergency fund at Barnardo’s to help families with the cost-of-living crisis. This was designed to help those struggling to afford essentials with things like food vouchers, winter clothing, or replacing furniture.

We were surprised by the number of our frontline workers who were asking for help with children’s beds and bedding; many highlighted how the families were having to prioritise essentials like food, heating and electricity over things like repairing a broken bed or replacing mouldy bedding. This prompted us to investigate further and in September 2023 we published a report looking at this.

In interviews with frontline workers, we heard how some families were struggling to afford beds and bedding. One worker recounted seeing times where ‘bedroom furniture was being held together with tape’. We also heard numerous examples of children having to either share beds or sleep on the floor. To understand the scale of this issue we commissioned polling with YouGov. We estimate there are 894,000 children in the UK who have had to share a bed or sleep on the floor because their families were unable to provide another bed.

The guilt that parents feel when they are unable to provide beds and bedding also came out in the report. One of our practitioners said:

These parents know the bare minimum is providing a warm bed – they’re fully aware but they’re ashamed they can’t provide this.

In the last 12 months, our polling with YouGov found that there were over 1 million families in the UK where parents had given up their own bed so their child had somewhere to sleep.

For the report we surveyed over 700 Barnardo’s practitioners. We found that around half of them (49%) are worried about how rising costs are affecting the ability of families they work with to afford beds and bedding. In many of the interviews we conducted we heard how families are having to prioritise paying for food, heating or cover rising housing costs above things like fixing a broken bed. One of our practitioners said: ‘feeding and keeping their children warm was more of a priority than having decent beds and bedding.’

Our research focussed on the negative impact of this on children’s wellbeing, particularly the impact on school life and mental health. Some of Barnardo’s attendance officers contributed to the report. They support children and families with getting young people to go to school and they highlighted how not being able to afford appropriate beds or bedding meant that for some children they were ‘just too tired, and it means they start falling behind in school’. Using our YouGov polling of children we estimate there are currently 73,000 children in the UK who feel ‘anxious’, 92,000 that feel ‘unhappy’, and 123,000 that feel ‘moody’ due to not having adequate beds to sleep in.

In our report we set out three key recommendations: ending the two-child limit, implementing an Essentials Guarantee in Universal Credit (as proposed by Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Trussell Trust) and fixing local crisis support. This last recommendation is our key focus with the UK Government in the coming months.

In March, the Household Support Fund will come to an end, posing a huge challenge to local authorities in how they deliver help and support to people in financial crisis. Analysis by End Furniture Poverty found that 45% of funds for local crisis support comes from the Household Support Fund as opposed to core funding. We, alongside organisations like GMPA, are calling for the fund to be extended and a long-term solution for local crisis support.

To read more about our report, click here.

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By Hollie Griss, Communications and Media Officer at GMPA

On Monday 16 October, individuals and organisations from across Greater Manchester came together to consider how we can end poverty in our city-region.

To kick off Challenge Poverty Week, we organised an all-day event in collaboration with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and the Methodist Central Hall to bring together many of us across the city-region who are working to tackle poverty.

The event saw a number of speakers share their work and ideas on what can be done to reduce and prevent poverty, including: Cllr Arooj Shah, Leader of Oldham Council and GM Portfolio lead for Equalities and Communities; Jo Garsden, Programme Manager at the Greater Manchester Ageing Hub; Sasha Deepwell, Chief Executive at Irwell Valley Homes; Steve Hughes, Chief Operating Officer at Citizens Advice SORT; and Sheenagh Young, Chief Executive at the South Manchester Credit Union.

We also had a message of support from Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, and Reverend Ian Rutherford hosted a Q&A panel with representatives from Virgin Media, Virgin Money, United Utilities, Electricity North West and Lloyds Banking Group.

Attendees spent much of the afternoon in group discussions, considering what a Greater Manchester free from poverty might look like and how we might get there.

Graham Whitham, CEO at Greater Manchester Poverty Action said:

We’d like to thank all speakers and attendees for your time and involvement, and for making it such a thought-provoking and insightful day.

It was excellent to have a broad range of individuals and organisations considering future priorities and actions for anti-poverty efforts in the city-region and identifying options for partnership working and network development. The many learnings from discussions will be invaluable in helping shape our work going forwards, and will inform our next three-year strategy.

We look forward to continuing to work with you all in driving down poverty in Greater Manchester.

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By Dr Luke Munford, Senior Lecturer in Health Economics at the University of Manchester

England, and the UK more broadly, is a deeply unequal country. Health, wealth, and opportunities to thrive differ greatly depending on where we live, work, and play.

MPs and local elected officials set-up an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to examine ‘Left Behind Neighbourhoods’. Whilst not a great term, this reflects that these communities have high levels of need and have traditionally been forgotten about by national policy. ‘Left behind’ neighbourhoods are communities that are in the most deprived 10% of areas according to the 2019 Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) and in the 10% of areas of greatest need in the Community Needs Index (CNI).

There are 225 neighbourhoods identified as being left behind, and were typically found in post-industrial areas in the North of England and the Midlands, as well as coastal areas in the South East. Of the 225 Left Behind Neighbourhoods, 138 are in the North of England, 54 are in the North West, and 17 are in Greater Manchester.

Investigating outcomes in left behind neighbourhoods

We were commissioned by APPG for Left Behind Neighbourhoods to produce a report on health and economic outcomes in these neighbourhoods. We examined health outcomes and inequalities in the 225 neighbourhoods and the rest of England, and the long-term effects of health inequalities on individuals and the economy.

Health inequalities in England

In left behind neighbourhoods, men live 3.7 years fewer than average and women 3 years fewer. People in these left behind neighbourhoods can expect to live 7.5 fewer years in good health than their counterparts in the rest of England. Worryingly, there is evidence that this gap in life expectancy has been growing since 2010.

There is a higher prevalence of 15 of the most common 21 health conditions compared to other deprived areas and England as a whole. These health conditions include high blood pressure, obesity and chronic lung conditions. People in left behind neighbourhoods also claim almost double the amount of incapacity benefits due to mental health related conditions compared to England as a whole. During the earlier parts of the COVID-19 pandemic, people in left behind neighbourhoods were 46% more likely to die from COVID-19 than in the rest of England.

Impact on the economy

People in left behind neighbourhoods had it worse before the pandemic, were more affected by the pandemic, and will be harder hit by the cost-of-living crisis. In the current economic climate, more and more people are facing unexpected financial hardships or being pushed further into poverty, particularly in left behind neighbourhoods.

Tackling these health disparities will not only improve the lives of millions of citizens, it will also bring significant savings to the taxpayer. If the health outcomes in local authorities that contain left behind neighbourhoods were brought up to the same level as the rest of the country, an extra £29.8bn could be put into the country’s economy.

Tackling health disparities

To address health inequalities, the government’s national ‘levelling up’ strategy must include a strand on reducing spatial health disparities through targeting multiple neighbourhood, community and healthcare factors.

Long-term ring-fenced funding is needed to ensure more effective delivery of resources, and for targeted health inequalities programmes with a hyper-local focus that prioritises those left behind areas with the worse health outcomes that have been most affected by COVID-19. Consistent and long-term (10-15 years) financial support is needed to build local social infrastructure in left behind communities that lack the community capacity, civic assets and social capital needed to support and benefit from preventative and neighbourhood-based health initiatives.

Community public health budgets should be safeguarded so that action to relieve acute NHS backlogs does not undermine efforts to tackle the root causes of ill health and boost health resilience in deprived and left behind communities. Local health initiatives that increase the level of control local people have over their life circumstances should be prioritised, from community piggy bank and community health champions initiatives, to more structured forms of community governance and decision-making.

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By Matt Padley, Co-Director of the Centre for Research and Social Policy at Loughborough University

What do people need to live with dignity in the UK today? What kind of living standards do we as a society agree that everyone in the UK should be able to achieve? How can we make sure that people don’t fall below this level?

These questions are central to research we’ve been doing on Minimum Income Standards (MIS) since 2008. Funded by JRF, our work is rooted in many hours of discussions with groups of people from different backgrounds and different types of households, asking them to reach agreement about what people need as a minimum.

The starting point for these deliberations is a publicly-determined definition of minimum living standards:

A minimum standard of living in the UK today includes, but is more than just, food, clothes and shelter. It is about having what you need in order to have the opportunities and choices necessary to participate in society.

So this minimum is about meeting those core needs we all agree are necessary for survival. But as someone in an early group said:

Food, clothes and shelter keep you alive, but that’s not living.

Living with dignity is about more than just surviving; it is about being able to take part in the world around you.

What is described and detailed in MIS sets out household needs and how much people need to spend to reach this level. We set out the income different households need to live in dignity, and regularly update our research to  ensure MIS continues to capture and reflect shared views of minimum needs, shaped by shifts in social norms, technological change and by the broader political, economic and social climate.

Our latest report looks at what people need to reach MIS in 2023. The past couple of years have posed significant challenges to household incomes, with the cost of many goods and services increasing rapidly, particularly the cost of food and domestic fuel.

These increases feed through into the incomes households need to reach MIS. A single person needs to earn £29,500 to have an acceptable standard of living in 2023, compared to £25,000 in 2022. A couple with two children need to earn £50,000 between them in 2023, compared to £44,500 in 2022.

While costs have been increasing rapidly over the last 18 months, people’s incomes, both in and out of work, have not been keeping up.

A single person, out of work, receives only 30% of what they need to reach MIS; working full-time at the National Living Wage (NLW) they have 73% of what they need, but are still falling well short of MIS.

A couple with two children, receiving out-of-work benefits, have half of what they need; even with both working full-time at the NLW, they are falling short of meeting all of their minimum needs, having 95% of what they need.

With uncertainty about what’s going to happen to benefit uprating in the upcoming Autumn Statement, millions of people are facing the prospect of incomes becoming ever more inadequate over time, with much that has been taken for granted as essential to living with dignity, no longer being a given.

In the UK in 2023, we shouldn’t be living in a society where parents worry about whether or not they can send their children to school in the appropriate uniform, or where pensioners have to cut back on meals so their pension will last the week. We need a social security system that doesn’t depend on foodbanks and charities to catch those falling though the growing holes in our safety net.

These are not challenges necessarily met with short-term responses, but problems that needs long-term thinking and bolder ambition, focused on finding ways to collectively create a society in which fewer and fewer people fall below the Minimum Income Standard.

Until we do this, many people will continue to exist on incomes that don’t meet their minimum needs. Addressing this is critical to the nation’s economy and health, as well as people’s dignity.

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By Tom Waring, Business Development Executive at GMPA

We at Greater Manchester Poverty Action are very excited to share our new training offer with you.

What is our new training offer? 

Through our new training offer, we can share our leading expertise in how best to prevent and reduce poverty.  We have training for everyone who might benefit from our expertise, including: the public, private or voluntary sectors, or individuals.

We are launching a number of new training courses:

• Cost-of-living crisis: insights
• Tackling poverty with data
• Maximising household income
• Valuing lived experience.

We charge for our training, however as a not-for-profit, all money raised is re-invested into the organisation to achieve our mission of ending poverty in Greater Manchester and beyond. We also offered discounted prices for VCSE or smaller organisations, and we offer one free place on all of our sessions. This is to ensure that cost isn’t a barrier to our training and as many people as possible can access it.

Why are we launching this new offer? 

We know training is a useful part of our work. We already develop and deliver bespoke training programmes for a range of different organisations—for example, we’ve delivered bespoke training for Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue, 42nd Street, and NHS Greater Manchester.

The feedback from these sessions has been very positive. Attendees have shared that we’ve supported them to better understand poverty and its effects on people and society, and how their organisations can play a role in tackling poverty. However, this new expanded training offer allows individuals to book on, meaning we can broaden the audience who accesses our training. This means we can share our leading expertise on the best ways to tackle poverty with more people and organisations.

A training attendee from NHS Greater Manchester said:

The training exceeded my expectations. The content was easy to follow and felt very considered. It was refreshing to see lived experience shared…the team felt very invested in the subject. The topic is a difficult one and I felt that it was handled sensitively…really well thought out and well delivered session.

Ensuring people have the most up-to-date information and guidance on how best to tackle poverty is essential for us to achieve our aim of ending poverty in Greater Manchester and beyond, and our new training offer will help us to achieve this. We hope to see you at an upcoming session! If you have any questions, please get in touch.

How to book

To book onto any of our courses, click here. We can also work with organisations to design a bespoke training programme to meet your needs — click here to learn more.

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