As Universal Credit rollout progresses from the live service to full service we asked what the changes mean and how frontline advisors are faring. In this webinar we also looked at what local organisations can do to prepare people now for managed migration.
Policy in Practice's Zoe Charlesworth and Peter Carter were joined by Darren Thomas, Senior Welfare Officer, Grwp Cynefin who will share how their tenant's journey compares under the legacy system and Universal Credit.
For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, call 0330 0889 9242 or email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk.
Webinar | Wed 25 Jan 2017. Listen back to hear how Policy in Practice models the impacts of different Council Tax Reduction schemes on individual households, taking future reforms into account.
Featuring guest speaker Steve Hill, LB Tower Hamlets.
Is your post COVID-19 Council Tax Support Scheme sustainable?Policy in Practice
The £500 million Hardship Fund allows councils to give extra support to help people affected by Coronavirus. Councils are expected to use this welcome funding to reduce the council tax bills of working-age people who are already receiving council tax support, by £150 in 2020/21.
In this webinar, Zoe Charlesworth presented new nationwide analysis on the Hardship Fund allocations and discussed what this means for collection rates. Megan Mclean explored what this means for those who become newly unemployed, as well as CTR support schemes. Finally, Deven Ghelani looked at what councils can do now to proactively support people.
Review the slides to learn:
- How the Hardship Fund and council tax collection rates interact
- What the future looks like, and how you can plan for future vulnerability
- How to identify the most vulnerable households in your area so you can target additional support
Supporting staff who are carers - meeting the 5YFV for the nhs, pop up uni, 1...NHS England
Expo is the most significant annual health and social care event in the calendar, uniting more NHS and care leaders, commissioners, clinicians, voluntary sector partners, innovators and media than any other health and care event.
Expo 15 returned to Manchester and was hosted once again by NHS England. Around 5000 people a day from health and care, the voluntary sector, local government, and industry joined together at Manchester Central Convention Centre for two packed days of speakers, workshops, exhibitions and professional development.
This year, Expo was more relevant and engaging than ever before, happening within the first 100 days of the new Government, and almost 12 months after the publication of the NHS Five Year Forward View. It was also a great opportunity to check on and learn from the progress of Greater Manchester as the area prepares to take over a £6 billion devolved health and social care budget, pledging to integrate hospital, community, primary and social care and vastly improve health and well-being.
More information is available online: www.expo.nhs.uk
We held a workshop in Flintshire in April for local authorities who are curious about what their data can tell them. Hosted by Peter Carter and Terrin Mathew, attendees from across Wales and the North West compared notes about the challenges of the welfare reforms and the rollout of Universal Credit, and how they're each using their data now.
The workshop inspired people with stories of success elsewhere and helped them to build the case for using local authority held datasets to better target your support for vulnerable households.
For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242.
Northern Voices: Delivering Universal Credit and Tackling Homelessness outsid...Policy in Practice
Policy in Practice and Northern Housing Consortium hosted this important event to bring Westminster policy makers together with northern organisations.
Delegates joined central government speakers and local influencers in Leeds for this free one day workshop to exclusively hear the latest policy updates on Universal Credit managed migration from DWP and homelessness prevention from MHCLG. They helped to create a united voice of influence for people and practitioners in the north.
Attendees:
> Heard from central government about policy updates and plans
> Contributed experiences in order to influence central government
> Learned from the experiences of trailblazing organisations in the north
> Networked and benchmark with like minded peers
Who attended:
Senior decision makers, elected representatives and team leaders charged with supporting vulnerable people and tackling homelessness attended. The outputs from the table discussions will form a white paper that will be presented to DWP and MHCLG.
For further details email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call Donna Gallagher on 0742 8783581.
Visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk
Webinar: How to Future Proof Your CTRS scheme for Universal CreditPolicy in Practice
Despite greater flexibility to raise income, councils still have to make savings and ensure their budgets are spent as efficiently as possible.
In many councils the spotlight is on Council Tax to raise income and the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) to make savings.
Council Tax Schemes have been locally designed since April 2013. While many still reflect the nationally administered Council Tax Benefit, we're starting to see greater innovation locally.
The driver of this innovation is the backdrop of the cumulative impact of past and future welfare reforms, the introduction of Universal Credit and ever tighter budgets.
CTRS schemes are intended to keep the most vulnerable citizens safe from poverty. Knowing who those people are is a huge challenge.
We've modelled options for future CTRS schemes in detail for various councils. The impact assessments are used to make informed policy decisions by officers and members.
View this webinar to learn how:
1. We accurately model the cost of CTRS schemes today
2. We accurately model the cost of CTRS schemes in the future, including under Universal Credit
3. We accurately model, compare and evaluate CTRS options under consideration
4. We provide evidenced based recommendations on which CTRS scheme best supports the strategy e. g. best fit for anti-poverty strategy while operating within financial constraints
5. What CTRS schemes we have created for North Hertfordshire, Leeds City and Newcastle City Councils
On 4th December 2015 the Big Lottery Fund and CBO evaluation team ran a peer learning event for people developing SIBs related to employment, housing and crime. These slides are from the afternoon workshop on working with investors.
Webinar | Wed 25 Jan 2017. Listen back to hear how Policy in Practice models the impacts of different Council Tax Reduction schemes on individual households, taking future reforms into account.
Featuring guest speaker Steve Hill, LB Tower Hamlets.
Is your post COVID-19 Council Tax Support Scheme sustainable?Policy in Practice
The £500 million Hardship Fund allows councils to give extra support to help people affected by Coronavirus. Councils are expected to use this welcome funding to reduce the council tax bills of working-age people who are already receiving council tax support, by £150 in 2020/21.
In this webinar, Zoe Charlesworth presented new nationwide analysis on the Hardship Fund allocations and discussed what this means for collection rates. Megan Mclean explored what this means for those who become newly unemployed, as well as CTR support schemes. Finally, Deven Ghelani looked at what councils can do now to proactively support people.
Review the slides to learn:
- How the Hardship Fund and council tax collection rates interact
- What the future looks like, and how you can plan for future vulnerability
- How to identify the most vulnerable households in your area so you can target additional support
Supporting staff who are carers - meeting the 5YFV for the nhs, pop up uni, 1...NHS England
Expo is the most significant annual health and social care event in the calendar, uniting more NHS and care leaders, commissioners, clinicians, voluntary sector partners, innovators and media than any other health and care event.
Expo 15 returned to Manchester and was hosted once again by NHS England. Around 5000 people a day from health and care, the voluntary sector, local government, and industry joined together at Manchester Central Convention Centre for two packed days of speakers, workshops, exhibitions and professional development.
This year, Expo was more relevant and engaging than ever before, happening within the first 100 days of the new Government, and almost 12 months after the publication of the NHS Five Year Forward View. It was also a great opportunity to check on and learn from the progress of Greater Manchester as the area prepares to take over a £6 billion devolved health and social care budget, pledging to integrate hospital, community, primary and social care and vastly improve health and well-being.
More information is available online: www.expo.nhs.uk
We held a workshop in Flintshire in April for local authorities who are curious about what their data can tell them. Hosted by Peter Carter and Terrin Mathew, attendees from across Wales and the North West compared notes about the challenges of the welfare reforms and the rollout of Universal Credit, and how they're each using their data now.
The workshop inspired people with stories of success elsewhere and helped them to build the case for using local authority held datasets to better target your support for vulnerable households.
For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242.
Northern Voices: Delivering Universal Credit and Tackling Homelessness outsid...Policy in Practice
Policy in Practice and Northern Housing Consortium hosted this important event to bring Westminster policy makers together with northern organisations.
Delegates joined central government speakers and local influencers in Leeds for this free one day workshop to exclusively hear the latest policy updates on Universal Credit managed migration from DWP and homelessness prevention from MHCLG. They helped to create a united voice of influence for people and practitioners in the north.
Attendees:
> Heard from central government about policy updates and plans
> Contributed experiences in order to influence central government
> Learned from the experiences of trailblazing organisations in the north
> Networked and benchmark with like minded peers
Who attended:
Senior decision makers, elected representatives and team leaders charged with supporting vulnerable people and tackling homelessness attended. The outputs from the table discussions will form a white paper that will be presented to DWP and MHCLG.
For further details email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call Donna Gallagher on 0742 8783581.
Visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk
Webinar: How to Future Proof Your CTRS scheme for Universal CreditPolicy in Practice
Despite greater flexibility to raise income, councils still have to make savings and ensure their budgets are spent as efficiently as possible.
In many councils the spotlight is on Council Tax to raise income and the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) to make savings.
Council Tax Schemes have been locally designed since April 2013. While many still reflect the nationally administered Council Tax Benefit, we're starting to see greater innovation locally.
The driver of this innovation is the backdrop of the cumulative impact of past and future welfare reforms, the introduction of Universal Credit and ever tighter budgets.
CTRS schemes are intended to keep the most vulnerable citizens safe from poverty. Knowing who those people are is a huge challenge.
We've modelled options for future CTRS schemes in detail for various councils. The impact assessments are used to make informed policy decisions by officers and members.
View this webinar to learn how:
1. We accurately model the cost of CTRS schemes today
2. We accurately model the cost of CTRS schemes in the future, including under Universal Credit
3. We accurately model, compare and evaluate CTRS options under consideration
4. We provide evidenced based recommendations on which CTRS scheme best supports the strategy e. g. best fit for anti-poverty strategy while operating within financial constraints
5. What CTRS schemes we have created for North Hertfordshire, Leeds City and Newcastle City Councils
On 4th December 2015 the Big Lottery Fund and CBO evaluation team ran a peer learning event for people developing SIBs related to employment, housing and crime. These slides are from the afternoon workshop on working with investors.
London Councils' Welfare Reform Impact Assessment presentationPolicy in Practice
Deven Ghelani presented to the London Councils' Benefits Managers meeting on Thursday 21 January about Welfare Reform Impact Assessment.
Deven shared the approach that Policy in Practice has used to help local authorities in London to understand the impact of welfare reform on individual households. He shared insights from the recent analysis carried out for LB Hounslow.
IRRV2015 - Progress on Welfare Reform by Deven GhelaniPolicy in Practice
The IRRV Annual Conference 2015 featured this presentation by Deven Ghelani about Progress on Welfare Reform.
Understanding the impact of cumulative and future welfare reforms on individual residents was at the heart of Deven's talk.
Stark insights from welfare reform impact analysis work done with Leeds City Council and Birmingham City Council were shared.
Deven outlined how specific welfare reforms have different impacts and what these mean to individual residents.
Policy makers in local authorities need to make sure that their policies are appropriate to local needs. Yet, without the insights that councils like Leeds and Birmingham have secured, the risk is that support programmes are blanket and wasteful, not targeted and effective.
On 11th February 2016 the Big Lottery Fund and CBO evaluation team ran a peer learning event for people developing SIBs related to health. These slides are from the workshop on working with investors.
The Cornwall Agri-food Council in partnership with PKF Francis Clark and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership are delighted to invite you to this seminar, which aims to help you navigate the world of grant funding. A range of support is available to farmers, food processors, forestry businesses, rural businesses and community and voluntary organisations in 2017 and the panel of speakers will guide you through the options available.
COVID-19 has created residents who are newly financially vulnerable and who will be looking to you for help in the near future. But who are these people, and what action can you take now to stop them falling into crisis? And, critically, how will your support services need to adapt?
As the pandemic continues to hit the financial resilience of many families, councils are looking ahead to what this means for collection rates, and whether their council tax support schemes can cope with increased demand.
In this webinar, Zoe Charlesworth summarised the latest and forthcoming policy updates which will drive the need for local authorities to redesign their CTR schemes, highlighting the importance of how understanding this context can assist scheme design.
Paul Howarth presented some key insights from our analysis on Understanding the Impact of Universal Credit on the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and Rent Arrears in Wales.
Dr Ben Fell shared details of our latest work on future modelling and how it can help you future-proof CTR schemes for local authorities.
Finally, Sally Sanders shared how working with Policy in Practice has helped Enfield Council model a new scheme to help protect residents from COVID-19 income shocks.
Listen back to hear:
- New analysis for the Welsh Government on the impact of Universal Credit on rent and council tax arrears
- How COVID-19 is expected to change your caseload, and what this means for your council tax support scheme
-Measures you can take to boost future collection rates and minimise arrears
Webinar: Mapping The Impact of the Summer Budget in BirminghamPolicy in Practice
Birmingham City Council mapped the cumulative impact of the latest welfare reforms on residents using a data set all local authorities have.
View this slide deck to see the results of the analysis, and to learn how the council is using the information to shape their support for people impacted by welfare reforms.
IRRV WELFARE REFORM AND BENEFITS SEMINAR: The Reality of the Social Impact of...Policy in Practice
Deven Ghelani, Policy in Practice, spoke at the IRRV Welfare Reform and Benefits Seminar – Are We Facing An Impending Disaster? on
The IRRV’s annual seminar on Welfare Reform and Benefits addressed the key issues on Welfare Reform and looked in detail at the Government’s proposal for the months and years to come.
Deven Ghelani, CEO and Founder, Policy in Practice, will delivered the following session at 10:35 am:
The Reality of the Social Impact of Welfare Reform
What will be the detailed social impact of Welfare Reform? What pressure will be placed on local authorities in delivering their statutory functions particularly in relation to housing and local taxation? How will local authorities continue to maintain these functions whilst facing up to the demands of the Governments austerity programme?
View his slides here.
Webinar: Council tax support Models that Members can sign up toPolicy in Practice
Listen back to hear Policy in Practice in conversation with Allan Clark, Barnet Council, to learn how they're changing their council tax support scheme for Universal Credit.
We cover how Policy in Practice's comprehensive impact modelling provided the data that Barnet Council's Members needed to agree amended schemes with confidence.
Listen back to learn:
- How LAs’ CTS schemes have evolved since they were first introduced
- What factors Barnet modelled, and why
- What schemes Barnet considered, rejected and implemented
For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242.
netwealth 2015 Federal Budget webinar presentationnetwealthInvest
This presentation provides a summary of information announced in the 2015-16 Federal Budget which may be of interest to financial advisers and their clients.
Key topics covered in this presentation are:
- Small business
- Taxation
- Superannuation
- Social Security and Aged Care
- Other
Please note that many of these announcements are yet to be legislated, and care should be taken before implementing a financial strategy based on Budget announcements alone.
How data can help support vulnerable utility customersPolicy in Practice
Deven Ghelani spoke at Utility Week's #consumerdebt conference in Birmingham on 27 February 2018.
In his talk, titled The changing living standards of low income households and their ability to pay, he focused on:
- assessing the initial effect of universal credit on low-income households
- the impact of wider welfare reforms and
- how organisations can support vulnerable customers..
For further information contact hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242.
How landlords can prepare for managed migration workshopPolicy in Practice
Policy in Practice has teamed up with Bill Irvine, UC Advice & Advocacy, to help housing associations learn how to prepare for managed migration to Universal Credit. This workshop featured the following speakers and topics:
Background to Universal Credit managed migration by Zoe Charlesworth, Policy in Practice
The view from the frontline by Nadine Burns and Michelle Birley, The Guinness Group
Key challenges to smooth delivery of managed migration by Bill Irvine, Universal Credit Advice
Transitional Protection by Louise Murphy, Policy and Data Analyst, Policy in Practice
Best practice advice for preparing tenants by Bill Irvine, Universal Credit Advice
How Royal Borough of Greenwich is preparing for managed migration by Corin Hammersley, Royal Borough of Greenwich
Develop your own proactive action plan for managed migration
For more information please visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, call 0330 088 9242 or email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk
Local authorities are transforming the lives of low-income families with administrative data. Councils are using this data in ever more exciting and innovative ways to target support to their communities and prevent instances of hardship.
In this webinar we showcase how public sector administrative data is being used for good. You will hear how our guest speakers Margaret Gallagher, Linda Morris and Emilio Innocenti, Haringey Council, used our LIFT Dashboard to run targeted intervention campaigns to encourage take-up of backdated Pension Credit claims.
View these slides to learn:
- How potentially eligible mixed-age couples were identified
- What communication methods we use to offer support
- What outcomes were achieved
To find out more visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242
View the slides from our webinar: 2018: A policy review of the year. We were joined by guest speakers Deven Ghelani and Paul Howarth, Policy in Practice.
We reviewed the social policy analysis we delivered for clients in 2018 and recapped on key findings we uncovered. We also discussed what this means for local organisations in 2019.
Find out what we learnt about:
Homelessness and housing
Changing living standards of low income households
Universal Credit's impact on people
Universal Credit's impact on frontline organisations
For more information please visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, call 0330 088 9242 or email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk.
London Councils' Welfare Reform Impact Assessment presentationPolicy in Practice
Deven Ghelani presented to the London Councils' Benefits Managers meeting on Thursday 21 January about Welfare Reform Impact Assessment.
Deven shared the approach that Policy in Practice has used to help local authorities in London to understand the impact of welfare reform on individual households. He shared insights from the recent analysis carried out for LB Hounslow.
IRRV2015 - Progress on Welfare Reform by Deven GhelaniPolicy in Practice
The IRRV Annual Conference 2015 featured this presentation by Deven Ghelani about Progress on Welfare Reform.
Understanding the impact of cumulative and future welfare reforms on individual residents was at the heart of Deven's talk.
Stark insights from welfare reform impact analysis work done with Leeds City Council and Birmingham City Council were shared.
Deven outlined how specific welfare reforms have different impacts and what these mean to individual residents.
Policy makers in local authorities need to make sure that their policies are appropriate to local needs. Yet, without the insights that councils like Leeds and Birmingham have secured, the risk is that support programmes are blanket and wasteful, not targeted and effective.
On 11th February 2016 the Big Lottery Fund and CBO evaluation team ran a peer learning event for people developing SIBs related to health. These slides are from the workshop on working with investors.
The Cornwall Agri-food Council in partnership with PKF Francis Clark and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership are delighted to invite you to this seminar, which aims to help you navigate the world of grant funding. A range of support is available to farmers, food processors, forestry businesses, rural businesses and community and voluntary organisations in 2017 and the panel of speakers will guide you through the options available.
COVID-19 has created residents who are newly financially vulnerable and who will be looking to you for help in the near future. But who are these people, and what action can you take now to stop them falling into crisis? And, critically, how will your support services need to adapt?
As the pandemic continues to hit the financial resilience of many families, councils are looking ahead to what this means for collection rates, and whether their council tax support schemes can cope with increased demand.
In this webinar, Zoe Charlesworth summarised the latest and forthcoming policy updates which will drive the need for local authorities to redesign their CTR schemes, highlighting the importance of how understanding this context can assist scheme design.
Paul Howarth presented some key insights from our analysis on Understanding the Impact of Universal Credit on the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and Rent Arrears in Wales.
Dr Ben Fell shared details of our latest work on future modelling and how it can help you future-proof CTR schemes for local authorities.
Finally, Sally Sanders shared how working with Policy in Practice has helped Enfield Council model a new scheme to help protect residents from COVID-19 income shocks.
Listen back to hear:
- New analysis for the Welsh Government on the impact of Universal Credit on rent and council tax arrears
- How COVID-19 is expected to change your caseload, and what this means for your council tax support scheme
-Measures you can take to boost future collection rates and minimise arrears
Webinar: Mapping The Impact of the Summer Budget in BirminghamPolicy in Practice
Birmingham City Council mapped the cumulative impact of the latest welfare reforms on residents using a data set all local authorities have.
View this slide deck to see the results of the analysis, and to learn how the council is using the information to shape their support for people impacted by welfare reforms.
IRRV WELFARE REFORM AND BENEFITS SEMINAR: The Reality of the Social Impact of...Policy in Practice
Deven Ghelani, Policy in Practice, spoke at the IRRV Welfare Reform and Benefits Seminar – Are We Facing An Impending Disaster? on
The IRRV’s annual seminar on Welfare Reform and Benefits addressed the key issues on Welfare Reform and looked in detail at the Government’s proposal for the months and years to come.
Deven Ghelani, CEO and Founder, Policy in Practice, will delivered the following session at 10:35 am:
The Reality of the Social Impact of Welfare Reform
What will be the detailed social impact of Welfare Reform? What pressure will be placed on local authorities in delivering their statutory functions particularly in relation to housing and local taxation? How will local authorities continue to maintain these functions whilst facing up to the demands of the Governments austerity programme?
View his slides here.
Webinar: Council tax support Models that Members can sign up toPolicy in Practice
Listen back to hear Policy in Practice in conversation with Allan Clark, Barnet Council, to learn how they're changing their council tax support scheme for Universal Credit.
We cover how Policy in Practice's comprehensive impact modelling provided the data that Barnet Council's Members needed to agree amended schemes with confidence.
Listen back to learn:
- How LAs’ CTS schemes have evolved since they were first introduced
- What factors Barnet modelled, and why
- What schemes Barnet considered, rejected and implemented
For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242.
netwealth 2015 Federal Budget webinar presentationnetwealthInvest
This presentation provides a summary of information announced in the 2015-16 Federal Budget which may be of interest to financial advisers and their clients.
Key topics covered in this presentation are:
- Small business
- Taxation
- Superannuation
- Social Security and Aged Care
- Other
Please note that many of these announcements are yet to be legislated, and care should be taken before implementing a financial strategy based on Budget announcements alone.
How data can help support vulnerable utility customersPolicy in Practice
Deven Ghelani spoke at Utility Week's #consumerdebt conference in Birmingham on 27 February 2018.
In his talk, titled The changing living standards of low income households and their ability to pay, he focused on:
- assessing the initial effect of universal credit on low-income households
- the impact of wider welfare reforms and
- how organisations can support vulnerable customers..
For further information contact hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242.
How landlords can prepare for managed migration workshopPolicy in Practice
Policy in Practice has teamed up with Bill Irvine, UC Advice & Advocacy, to help housing associations learn how to prepare for managed migration to Universal Credit. This workshop featured the following speakers and topics:
Background to Universal Credit managed migration by Zoe Charlesworth, Policy in Practice
The view from the frontline by Nadine Burns and Michelle Birley, The Guinness Group
Key challenges to smooth delivery of managed migration by Bill Irvine, Universal Credit Advice
Transitional Protection by Louise Murphy, Policy and Data Analyst, Policy in Practice
Best practice advice for preparing tenants by Bill Irvine, Universal Credit Advice
How Royal Borough of Greenwich is preparing for managed migration by Corin Hammersley, Royal Borough of Greenwich
Develop your own proactive action plan for managed migration
For more information please visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, call 0330 088 9242 or email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk
Local authorities are transforming the lives of low-income families with administrative data. Councils are using this data in ever more exciting and innovative ways to target support to their communities and prevent instances of hardship.
In this webinar we showcase how public sector administrative data is being used for good. You will hear how our guest speakers Margaret Gallagher, Linda Morris and Emilio Innocenti, Haringey Council, used our LIFT Dashboard to run targeted intervention campaigns to encourage take-up of backdated Pension Credit claims.
View these slides to learn:
- How potentially eligible mixed-age couples were identified
- What communication methods we use to offer support
- What outcomes were achieved
To find out more visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242
View the slides from our webinar: 2018: A policy review of the year. We were joined by guest speakers Deven Ghelani and Paul Howarth, Policy in Practice.
We reviewed the social policy analysis we delivered for clients in 2018 and recapped on key findings we uncovered. We also discussed what this means for local organisations in 2019.
Find out what we learnt about:
Homelessness and housing
Changing living standards of low income households
Universal Credit's impact on people
Universal Credit's impact on frontline organisations
For more information please visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, call 0330 088 9242 or email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk.
The most underclaimed benefits and how to drive take upPolicy in Practice
We know that £10 billion of benefits go unclaimed each year by people who are eligible for them but not receiving them. Some households aren’t claiming support that could be worth thousands of pounds each year to them.
In this webinar we showcased innovative work councils are doing to encourage take-up of some of the most unclaimed benefits, and heard how this can lead to wider conversations that build financial resilience.
View these slides to learn:
- Which income-related benefits are most underclaimed
- One council’s work to drive up pension credit and tax credit claims
- How to determine the ROI of intervention campaigns so you know what works
- How software can help to identify vulnerability, target support and track change
For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242
Webinar: How Citizens Advice is helping Universal Credit claimantsPolicy in Practice
Deven Ghelani, Policy in Practice, was joined by Kayley Hignell, Citizens Advice and Nicky Rees, Citizens Advice Peterborough, to discuss Universal Credit. View the slides from this webinar recording.
As Universal Credit receives a refresh, courtesy of new Secretary of State Amber Rudd, we asked what the recent changes mean for people affected, and how the Citizens Advice Service nationwide is responding.
We also looked at what some LCAs are doing to support people and were joined by Kayley Hignell, Head of Policy (Families, Welfare and Work), Citizens Advice, and Nicky Rees, Advice Operations Supervisor at Citizens Advice Peterborough.
In this webinar we covered:
- What the recent policy changes and new Secretary of State mean for Universal Credit
- How Citizens Advice approach to Universal Credit is changing
- How Citizens Advice Peterborough helps people to maximise income and budget well
- Brief introduction to software used by some Local Citizens Advice advisors to give accurate and easy to digest advice
"The Benefit and Budgeting Calculator is amazing, the frontline volunteers find it really useful. I especially like the calendar that shows claimants who get paid weekly how their monthly Universal Credit payments will be affected over the next 12 months."
Nicky Rees, Citizens Advice Peterborough
For more information on Policy in Practice please visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242
In this Policy in Practice webinar Deven Ghelani and Louise Murphy were joined by Mark Fowler, Community Solutions Director for London Borough of Barking and Dagenham to talk about designing effective data-led local authorities.
Today's forward thinking local authorities are adopting a data led approach to deliver the highest quality, people-centred services for their residents. By applying smart analysis techniques to their data, councils are developing big ideas for change that are working in their areas.
In the latest of our webinars showcasing how public sector administrative data is being used for good, join us to hear how our guest speakers are using data to transform their organisations intelligently.
Listen back to hear how data analysis has:
- Helped redesign corporate strategy
- Enabled services to be redesigned around residents
- Evidenced service need that's driven decision making
To find out more visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242
Utility week 2018: Customer Solutions: The debt landscape in response to a ch...Policy in Practice
Deven Ghelani, Policy in Practice, was invited so speak at this year's Utility Week conference on the subject of debt and vulnerability.
He outlined the policy landscape that has lead to some working age households being worse off by over £40 per week by 2020.
As well as referencing innovative work being done by Cambridge City Council and South Staffs Water, Deven outlined practical software tools that utility companies can use to identify and support vulnerable customers.
For more details visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242
Universal Credit: Protect rental income and support tenantsPolicy in Practice
Deven Ghelani and Donna Gallagher, Policy in Practice, spoke at the Digital Housing Conference in Manchester on 31 October 2018. This is the slide deck they presented.
They spoke about Universal Credit: protect rental income and support tenants to officers and managers from housing associations.
In particular they covered:
Introduction to Policy in Practice
The impact of Universal Credit
Rollout update
The impact on rent arrears
Budget 2018 policy changes
What do you know about your tenants?
Mapping the aggregate impact of UC on tenants
The impact on individual families and how to engage them
How housing associations are meeting these challenges
The experience at Your Homes Newcastle
The experience with other housing associations
For further information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, call 0330 088 9242 or email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk
IntoWork2015 Conference: Targeting Support - Who Will Welfare Reforms Hit Har...Policy in Practice
Targeting Support: Who Will Welfare Reforms Hit Hardest?
Speakers: Deven Ghelani, Policy in Practice, Guy Chaundy, Birmingham City Council
Event: Inclusion's IntoWork2015 Convention, Wed 15 July 2015, Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London.
The speakers told attendees how data insights are helping reshape the distribution of scarce support resources for two large councils in England.
By analysing data they are collect the councils have gained valuable knowledge about the cumulative impact of welfare reforms on individual households in their respective areas.
What's more, those councils have also forecasted what the likely impact of future welfare reforms will be.
This means they know which households are most vulnerable to cuts, and which will be better off under Universal Credit.
Crucially, these insights allow them to therefore deliver support campaigns where they're most needed.
Deven Ghelani is the director of Policy in Practice, an organisation founded to ensure that policy works for people on the frontline. He was joined by Guy Chaundy from Birmingham City Council.
Deven Ghelani talked about Using Technology to Understand Vulnerable Households at the CIVEA Annual Conference in London this month.
Deven gave a state of the nation overview on the welfare reform roadmap to 2020 and shared key findings from Policy in Practice's analysis on the impact welfare reforms are having on the living standards of low income households in London.
Deven said "We need to better understand the nature of poverty and how it affects the financial resilience of people on low incomes. Intervening early is critical and, as more people become can't pays rather than won't pays, the enforcement industry has a crucial role to play in understanding vulnerability."
Understanding the impact of welfare reforms on households in the South EastPolicy in Practice
With the lower Benefit Cap coming in Autumn 2016 and Universal Credit firmly in its implementation phase, knowing what impact welfare reform policies will have on individual households is more critical than ever.
It’s also important to understand the impact of interventions. Targeting support to those households where it will have the greatest impact is crucial as local authorities continue to find ways to deliver more with less.
This Policy in Practice seminar from Wednesday 28 September 2016 showcased pioneering work being done by two London councils, Croydon and Tower Hamlets. Their work combines pre-emptive analysis with proactive programmes that will reach out to households and offer support, before reforms hit them.
Webinar: Profiling your DHP budget to mitigate the impact of welfare reforms Policy in Practice
Deven Ghelani and Zoe Charlesworth, Policy in Practice, discuss how local authorities can spend their DHP budgets most effectively, to ensure people who need the support the most receive it.
View these slides to learn:
1. How DHP money is spent nationwide and why underspends occur
2. How to identify individual households most in need and what support they need
3. How to know if your DHP support is reaching the right people
4. Where to target your DHP engagement campaigns
Central government has increased the DHP budget by £35m in 2017-2018 to help with the transition of welfare reforms and it is important that the increased funding is made available to those who need it most.
Whilst some assessments of the impact of reforms have taken place, DWP advise local authorities to carry out more detailed work to identify those most in need of discretionary support.
"You may want to profile your caseload to identify certain groups among those potentially affected by the changes, and establish the level of demand among those groups. Although DWP has already carried out various Equality Impact Assessments in relation to HB reform you may want to carry out a more detailed assessment for your area."
Discretionary Housing Payments Guidance Manual, DWP, Dec 2016
Policy in Practice has helped local authorities identify individual households most at risk from aggregate and cumulative welfare reforms so that support programmes can be targeted where they are most needed.
This webinar was held on Wednesday 1 March 2017 at 10:30
View YouTube recording here https://youtu.be/sjNreOrBMWc
Westminster Insight: Delivering Universal Credit full service Policy in Practice
Deven Ghelani, Founder and Director, Policy in Practice, was invited to speak at Westminster Insight's Welfare Reform Conference on the subject of Universal Credit full service roll out.
In his talk he covered Universal Universal Credit rollout to date and looked forward to managed migration. Giving practical examples and tips, Deven referenced the House of Commons Library tool as well as Policy in Practice's LIFT Dashboard which is helping a number of local authorities to understand which households will struggle with Universal Credit. He gave examples of how other local authorities use this data to identify, target and track vulnerability.
For more information contact hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk
Deven Ghelani spoke at Destin Solutions webinar on the impact the Breathing Space policy will have on local authorities.
View these slides to find out:
- The context for debt and collections in the UK
- What is Breathing Space?
- The impact on council tax collection
- Our findings for the GLA
- The case for early intervention: ReImagine Debt
For more details call 0330 088 9242
https://policyinpractice.co.uk/webinar-how-to-influence-central-government/
Browse our webinar slides to learn how to influence central government policy development and get your frontline experiences heard. With Paul Howarth and Jake Love Soper.
A new Parliamentary term brings fresh opportunity to talk to decision-makers about the things that really matter.
We think it’s important that policy hears from practice. But we also know it can be hard for people on the front line to get their voice heard above the noise.
Our guest speakers spoke about how to influence central government policy development and get your frontline experiences heard. With Paul Howarth and Jake Love Soper.
For more details call 0330 088 9242
https://policyinpractice.co.uk/webinar-how-to-influence-central-government/
2020 has brought fundamental changes to our lives, both personally and professionally. As our economy took second place to our health, so the welfare safety net came to the fore to support families who faced an income shock, seemingly overnight.
In this webinar Deven Ghelani, Zoe Charlesworth, Paul Howarth and Duncan Hatfield looked back at the policy response to the seismic shifts in our economy and society wrought by the pandemic. We revisited the research findings we uncovered from our analysis for clients across both local and central government. And, as the focus turns to the health of our economy, we look at what 2021 means for people facing redundancy, debt or lower incomes.
Listen back to the webinar to hear:
- How well the COVID-19 welfare changes worked, and what should happen next
- How living standards changed this year, and what the future holds
- The outlook for 2021 and how organisations can best support families
Our policy experts will discuss our analysis and what this means in 2021 for council tax support schemes, housing and homelessness demand, the outlook for living standards in the context of economic recovery, Universal Credit and Brexit.
For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242.
Deven Ghelani was invited to talk about the the impact of the benefit cap through the use of administrative data at a webinar organised by the University of York on Thursday 26 November 2020.
He was joined by a range of speakers, Dr Kitty Stewart, LSE and Dr Donald Hirsch, Loughborough University and Claire Hall, Child Poverty Action Group, to name but a few.
For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242.
Current Challenges and the Future Direction of Social Security ReformPolicy in Practice
Westminster Insight’s timely Welfare Reform Forum explored how to process the huge upsurge in claims, improving advice for those dealing with immediate cash flow problems, changing assessment processes to safeguard claimants, identifying people falling through gaps in the system and supporting the most vulnerable people financially affected by the pandemic.
Zoe's keynote address covered:
- The implications of the Government’s response to COVID 19 on the social security system
- Improving system design, delivery, flexibility and speed to support people in times of crisis
- Ensuring the social security system can weather the longer-term effects of the crisis
- Creating a person-centred, holistic and supportive social security system
In today’s economic climate falling into debt is perilously easy, getting out is hard. Firms in the debt sector have adopted flexible and ethical collection practices to support families who are struggling, yet costs and the time taken to collect have increased.
This Policy in Practice webinar featured guest speakers Carole Kenney, Director, Welfare and Customer Care, Gareth McNab, Social Inclusion Lead, Nationwide Building Society who spoke alongside Zoe Charlesworth, Director of Policy and Operations, Policy in Practice, and Sarah Lambert, Affordability Assessment Manager, Policy in Practice.
Whether you’re a collection agency, utility company, advice organisation, local authority or housing association, you’re on the frontline for helping people in debt.
You can boost the financial resilience of households by helping them to increase their income. In this way, you can increase collection rates and social impact, in the knowledge that you’re doing the right thing.
In this webinar we discussed:
- How COVID-19 has already hit people’s incomes, and what’s in store
- Who the newly vulnerable households are
- How to reduce existing arrears and the chance of a customer falling into arrears
- How to minimise the cost of debt collection
For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242
The Future of the Welfare State: Universal Credit, Furlough Schemes and Other...Policy in Practice
Deven Ghelani was invited to talk about the effectiveness of Universal Credit and the social policies introduced in the light of COVID-19 at this conference by Public Policy Exchange on Thursday 1 October 2020.
He joined speakers Debbie Abrahams MP, Steve McCabe MP, Dr Sophie Wickham and Dr Guy Standing.
For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242.
Sarah Lambert, Affordability Assessment Manager, Policy in Practice, delivered this presentation to the Money Advice Liason Group (MALG) Virtual summit on Thursday 29 October.
Over 20 million of us don’t have the necessary skills to effectively manage our money and 11.5 million of us have less than £100 in savings.
With predictions of widespread unemployment and an expected tsunami of people needing debt advice and support during the coming months and years, this session explored the innovative new tools and approaches that will help organisations to improve the financial capability of customers, increase the financial resilience of customers and engage customers earlier.
Sarah Lambert from Policy in Practice discussed research and initiatives we've developed, including our award winning Benefit and Budgeting Calculator, to support organisations to get ahead of the curve.
For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242.
AIM: Data protection, data governance, data managementPolicy in Practice
Tues 29 Sept: Deven Ghelani spoke with Paul Withers, DPO for Walsall Council, about our lessons so far from a powerful new project backed by the LGA and NHS digital to link data across adult services, children's services, public health, the NHS and police. Good data science relies upon access to good data, and we spoke about focusing on impact to win over stakeholders, actively raising and resolving data governance concerns upfront, and how the basics of good data management (security, data cleaning, data linking) are harder and more important than the 'sexy' data science that this project will become known for.
For more information email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242
Councils are looking ahead to what COVID-19 means for collection rates, people’s ability to pay, and whether their council tax support schemes can cope with increased demand.
Zoe and Megan share key findings of three new reports:
- An 18 month project working with 22 Welsh local authorities for the Welsh Government on Universal Credit, council tax reduction scheme and rent arrears in Wales Reports for the Greater London
- Authority on the impact of the Coronavirus Hardship Fund, and on the impact that a flexible approach to collections has on collection rates Analysis for the Cabinet Office on the effectiveness of an early intervention approach to managing arrears in two councils, Newcastle and Barking and Dagenham Council tax arrears were already £3.5 billion pre-crisis and are forecast to reach nearly £5 billion by the end of parliament.
Zoe Charlesworth examines what the worsening financial crisis means for council’s collection rates, budget setting and council tax support schemes, and will look at efforts across central and local government to improve how council tax debt is recovered.
Zoe Charlesworth, Head of Policy at Policy in Practice, spoke at the IRRV Virtual Annual Conference about those people who have struggled or missed out on support due to COVID-19 uncertainty.
The new COVID-19 schemes operate alongside means-tested benefits, pay different amounts and cater to different kinds of eligibility, resulting in a wide yet inequitable net of support. Zoe Charlesworth presents analysis by Policy in Practice that looked at over 2,500 individual cases of households who struggled with or missed out on support. Zoe will explore the characteristics of eight groups who you should watch out for as you advise residents, and a worked example of surplus earnings rules. Delegates learnt who missed out on support, what impact of COVID-19 support has had on inequality and, practically, who will need more guidance as their circumstances change.
For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, call 0330 088 9242 or email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk
Reimagine Debt. A tale of two councils: Reimagine Debt CollectionPolicy in Practice
Deven Ghelani, Director and Founder of Policy in Practice, spoke at the IRRV Virtual Annual Conference about the Cabinet Office's reimagine debt pilot scheme.
As COVID-19 continues to hit the financial resilience of many families councils are looking ahead to what this means for collection rates. With council tax arrears already at £3.5 billion pre-crisis, and forecast to reach nearly £5 billion by the end of parliament, councils will need to find new ways to maximise collections. Deven Ghelani spoke about how two councils identified which residents owed multiple debts to them, how they stabilised their incomes, and how they tracked the effectiveness of support. Attendees learnt how early intervention offers a proven approach for other councils to consider to prevent problem debt.
For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, call 0330 088 9242 or email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk
Jade Alsop, Commercial Director at Policy in Practice, spoke at Housemark's Ten Days of Data festival about embedding a data driven culture within organisations such as housing providers, local authorities and others.
Commitment to embrace data-driven decision making is needed at all levels of an organisation to realise the full value of insights. At this event Jade joined the speaker panel with Charlotte Carpenter from Karbon Homes and Colin Sales from 3C Consultants to explore how to lead by example to ensure what we do, say and ask, fosters a data-driven culture and embeds the use of data across an organisation.
For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, call 0330 088 9242 or email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk
IRRV virtual conference 2020: COVID-19 who has fallen between the gaps?Policy in Practice
In October 2020 Zoe Charlesworth, Head of Policy Operations presented to IRRV Annual Conference and Exhibition attendees on COVID-19: Who has fallen between the gaps?
Watch the full presentation: www.policyinpractice.co.uk/IRRV-2020
For more information please visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, call 0330 088 9242 or email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk
At the Government Data Science Festival 2020 Deven Ghelani, Director and Founder of Policy in Practice, joined Paul Withers, Data Protection Manager for Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, to present a case study of data science in local government.
Deven and Paul introduced the Active Intervention Management (AIM) project to the audience of local government data and digital officers. AIM is one of three Social Care Digital Innovation (SCDIA) 2020/21 projects that's run by CC2i on behalf of the Local Government Association with match funding from NHS Digital.
AIM uses basic level data to identify potential vulnerabilities and support the improvement of early intervention services. Organisations from fire and rescue, children's services and police authorities are all taking part in AIM.
For more information contact Deven Ghelani via deven@policyinpractice.co.uk or Paul Withers via paul.withers@walsall.gov.uk. Alternatively contact hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242.
Identifying people at risk of homelessness is a key priority for all local authorities. Deven Ghelani, Director and founder of Policy in Practice was invited to present to the Housing and Homelessness Needs group of London Councils on Friday 11 September 2020.
In his presentation to Deven covered the following agenda:
- Uncertainty: The outlook for the end of furlough and 2021
- The impact of COVID-19 to date: Data from 20 London BoroughsHousing affordability – who is at risk of homelessness
- The future outlook: Caseload, financial resilience and service demand
- Insight into action
For more details and to discuss how Policy in Practice can help your local authority to identify vulnerability, target support and track change using data please contact 020 3239 5579 or email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk.
The future is uncertain and recovery will be tough. It’s difficult to make projections about what the policy landscape will look like, what the wider economic trends will be and what will happen to different groups of people.
But we need to make projections to see implications for demand for council support and services, and indebtedness.
Listen back to hear:
- Key findings from our rapid-response COVID-19 analysis for the Greater London Authority
- How a new approach to real-time analytics can support councils with their economic and social recovery plan
- What our new future modelling analysis is predicting for both household and council finances
Roundtable - Who are the most vulnerable residents in London?Policy in Practice
Local authorities have stepped up in the fight against Coronavirus. As the lockdown lifts and our thoughts turn to recovery, proactively identifying and targeting support to those who need help most, using all of the insights available, has never been more important.
In this roundtable, hosted by Policy in Practice, we discussed who the most vulnerable residents in London are, both now and in the future.
We shared the latest analysis from our data-led investigation into the causes and consequences of poverty in London, supported by Trust for London.
We also revealed findings from our research for the Greater London Authority on how different welfare support policies have impacted London's poorest households.
We explored what the findings mean for London's local authorities and how services may need to change to proactively safeguard the wellbeing of London's residents.
Listen back to learn about:
- The financial situation of London's residents before COVID-19
- How an Innovate UK backed project can local authorities a real-time view of living standards now
- Which households will be most vulnerable in 2021, how this will impact council finances, and actions councils can take to mitigate the impact on residents
- Findings from research for GLA into the impacts of COVID-19 on low-income Londoners and best practice in flexible collection practices
Our Trust for London supported project will continue for another six months so councils who have not yet taken part still have time to do so. Email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242for details.
Many self-employed people will receive a grant through the new Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) this month. These payments can be up to £7,500 and will be counted as earnings under Universal Credit.
As a result, lots of self-employed households will be affected by the complex 'surplus earnings' rules for the first time. In short, these rules mean that for many households, the SEISS money will be taken into account as earnings not just for the month it was received, but for future months as well.
Welfare advisors need to understand the rules, and need a tool that can calculate eligibility all in one place, in order to advise people what their Universal Credit payments will be, and when they need to reclaim.
Hear from Sue McCarron from Citizens Advice Wirral who shared how frontline staff have supported customers facing with fluctuating income using the Benefit and Budgeting Calculator.
Review the slide to learn:
- A simple guide to the SEISS, Universal Credit and surplus earnings rules
- Worked examples to illustrate the challenge, and what to look out for
- How our Benefit and Budgeting Calculator helps
Coronavirus (COVID-19) has made life tough for people who are scared for their health and their finances. It’s also brought huge pressure to frontline organisations who are there to help.
In this webinar we are joined by Ellie Kershaw, Tower Hamlets and Grant Bailey, Cheltenham Borough Homes to discuss how they are dealing with the current changes, and how the crisis now will affect their residents in the future.
We explore how services may need to change and how organisations can be proactive now to safeguard their residents’ wellbeing.
Review the slides to learn:
- How other organisations are helping people deal with Coronavirus
- Ideas to consider that can drive a proactive, prevention approach
- Best practice for dealing with increased demand with limited resources
Opendatabay - Open Data Marketplace.pptxOpendatabay
Opendatabay.com unlocks the power of data for everyone. Open Data Marketplace fosters a collaborative hub for data enthusiasts to explore, share, and contribute to a vast collection of datasets.
First ever open hub for data enthusiasts to collaborate and innovate. A platform to explore, share, and contribute to a vast collection of datasets. Through robust quality control and innovative technologies like blockchain verification, opendatabay ensures the authenticity and reliability of datasets, empowering users to make data-driven decisions with confidence. Leverage cutting-edge AI technologies to enhance the data exploration, analysis, and discovery experience.
From intelligent search and recommendations to automated data productisation and quotation, Opendatabay AI-driven features streamline the data workflow. Finding the data you need shouldn't be a complex. Opendatabay simplifies the data acquisition process with an intuitive interface and robust search tools. Effortlessly explore, discover, and access the data you need, allowing you to focus on extracting valuable insights. Opendatabay breaks new ground with a dedicated, AI-generated, synthetic datasets.
Leverage these privacy-preserving datasets for training and testing AI models without compromising sensitive information. Opendatabay prioritizes transparency by providing detailed metadata, provenance information, and usage guidelines for each dataset, ensuring users have a comprehensive understanding of the data they're working with. By leveraging a powerful combination of distributed ledger technology and rigorous third-party audits Opendatabay ensures the authenticity and reliability of every dataset. Security is at the core of Opendatabay. Marketplace implements stringent security measures, including encryption, access controls, and regular vulnerability assessments, to safeguard your data and protect your privacy.
Techniques to optimize the pagerank algorithm usually fall in two categories. One is to try reducing the work per iteration, and the other is to try reducing the number of iterations. These goals are often at odds with one another. Skipping computation on vertices which have already converged has the potential to save iteration time. Skipping in-identical vertices, with the same in-links, helps reduce duplicate computations and thus could help reduce iteration time. Road networks often have chains which can be short-circuited before pagerank computation to improve performance. Final ranks of chain nodes can be easily calculated. This could reduce both the iteration time, and the number of iterations. If a graph has no dangling nodes, pagerank of each strongly connected component can be computed in topological order. This could help reduce the iteration time, no. of iterations, and also enable multi-iteration concurrency in pagerank computation. The combination of all of the above methods is the STICD algorithm. [sticd] For dynamic graphs, unchanged components whose ranks are unaffected can be skipped altogether.
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Empowering the Data Analytics Ecosystem: A Laser Focus on Value
The data analytics ecosystem thrives when every component functions at its peak, unlocking the true potential of data. Here's a laser focus on key areas for an empowered ecosystem:
1. Democratize Access, Not Data:
Granular Access Controls: Provide users with self-service tools tailored to their specific needs, preventing data overload and misuse.
Data Catalogs: Implement robust data catalogs for easy discovery and understanding of available data sources.
2. Foster Collaboration with Clear Roles:
Data Mesh Architecture: Break down data silos by creating a distributed data ownership model with clear ownership and responsibilities.
Collaborative Workspaces: Utilize interactive platforms where data scientists, analysts, and domain experts can work seamlessly together.
3. Leverage Advanced Analytics Strategically:
AI-powered Automation: Automate repetitive tasks like data cleaning and feature engineering, freeing up data talent for higher-level analysis.
Right-Tool Selection: Strategically choose the most effective advanced analytics techniques (e.g., AI, ML) based on specific business problems.
4. Prioritize Data Quality with Automation:
Automated Data Validation: Implement automated data quality checks to identify and rectify errors at the source, minimizing downstream issues.
Data Lineage Tracking: Track the flow of data throughout the ecosystem, ensuring transparency and facilitating root cause analysis for errors.
5. Cultivate a Data-Driven Mindset:
Metrics-Driven Performance Management: Align KPIs and performance metrics with data-driven insights to ensure actionable decision making.
Data Storytelling Workshops: Equip stakeholders with the skills to translate complex data findings into compelling narratives that drive action.
Benefits of a Precise Ecosystem:
Sharpened Focus: Precise access and clear roles ensure everyone works with the most relevant data, maximizing efficiency.
Actionable Insights: Strategic analytics and automated quality checks lead to more reliable and actionable data insights.
Continuous Improvement: Data-driven performance management fosters a culture of learning and continuous improvement.
Sustainable Growth: Empowered by data, organizations can make informed decisions to drive sustainable growth and innovation.
By focusing on these precise actions, organizations can create an empowered data analytics ecosystem that delivers real value by driving data-driven decisions and maximizing the return on their data investment.
Data Centers - Striving Within A Narrow Range - Research Report - MCG - May 2...pchutichetpong
M Capital Group (“MCG”) expects to see demand and the changing evolution of supply, facilitated through institutional investment rotation out of offices and into work from home (“WFH”), while the ever-expanding need for data storage as global internet usage expands, with experts predicting 5.3 billion users by 2023. These market factors will be underpinned by technological changes, such as progressing cloud services and edge sites, allowing the industry to see strong expected annual growth of 13% over the next 4 years.
Whilst competitive headwinds remain, represented through the recent second bankruptcy filing of Sungard, which blames “COVID-19 and other macroeconomic trends including delayed customer spending decisions, insourcing and reductions in IT spending, energy inflation and reduction in demand for certain services”, the industry has seen key adjustments, where MCG believes that engineering cost management and technological innovation will be paramount to success.
MCG reports that the more favorable market conditions expected over the next few years, helped by the winding down of pandemic restrictions and a hybrid working environment will be driving market momentum forward. The continuous injection of capital by alternative investment firms, as well as the growing infrastructural investment from cloud service providers and social media companies, whose revenues are expected to grow over 3.6x larger by value in 2026, will likely help propel center provision and innovation. These factors paint a promising picture for the industry players that offset rising input costs and adapt to new technologies.
According to M Capital Group: “Specifically, the long-term cost-saving opportunities available from the rise of remote managing will likely aid value growth for the industry. Through margin optimization and further availability of capital for reinvestment, strong players will maintain their competitive foothold, while weaker players exit the market to balance supply and demand.”
5. Agenda
• The big picture: Understanding Universal Credit rollout
• A look at the current challenges facing social landlords and tenants
• How some housing associations are meeting these challenges
• Technology that can help
8. Our analysis of Budget 2018
• Investment of £2.7 billion welcome
• Affects 2.6 million households
(2.3m with children & 0.3m
households with limited capability
for work)
• Employed households gain
• Self-employed, disabled, ill or out of
work don't gain
9. Budget 2018: Universal Credit changes
• UC work allowances: increase by £1,000 per year (from April 2019)
• Self employed: Protection extended to all; assessed on actual income (not MIF) for
12 months (from July 2019 or September 2020)
• Deductions from UC: Max rate down from 40% to 30% (from Oct 2019)
• Extra help for people migrating to UC: added 2 weeks payment of JSA, ESA and IS
(from July 2020)
• Delay in increasing the earnings limit that triggers surplus earnings (remains the
same until 2020)
• Period for recovery of advances extended from 12 to 16 months (from Oct 2021)
• Slower roll-out of Universal Credit (end now Dec 2023)
• Plus increase in minimum wage & changes in tax allowances (from April 2019)
12. Are work allowances restored fully?
• No restoration of work allowances for those without children or ESA
• Working and ESA tenants see work allowances restored & increased
ESA (+ £89/month), Children (+£18/month if single or £59/month if couple)
• Working and ESA homeowners still see work allowances significantly reduced from
April 2016 levels.
Home owner lone parent sees a reduction in work allowance of £242/month
Most other homeowners see a reduction of £155/month
13. Uneven impact across different households
Overall, working households will see some benefit from Budget 2018
• Employed households are the big winners
Employed households gain £18.41/week from the budget
They will on average be £9.13/week better off compared to under legacy benefits.
• Self-employed households will still lose slightly
They will be a further £2.42/week worse off as a result of the Budget
They will be £50.86/week worse off compared to legacy benefits
Disabled and ill households are not supported by the budget
• Income levels similar to their income pre-budget
• They will be £28.76/week worse off compared to legacy benefits
Households with children will be better off after the budget
• They will be £10.56/week better off as a result of the budget
• They will be reduced by £8.41/week compared to legacy benefits
14. Good, but more work to do
1. Improve standards of delivery
• Establish performance standards that, at least, match existing standards. (speed of processing, call waiting times,
accuracy of assessments)
• Undertake a mystery shopping exercise to monitor overall standards and publicise the results
• Train specialist staff to answer complex queries and deal with vulnerable claimants. Establish hotlines for local
authorities and Citizens Advice
• Invest more in training JCP work coaches who specialise in dealing with vulnerable claimants
• Sort out RTI/earnings issues
2. Work better with partners
• Give advisers software to help people compare UC and the legacy systems. Give local authorities access to the UC data
to identify and help those with low financial resilience
• Give local authorities support and advice role, with better access to UC assessments
• Allow providers of supported housing better access to DWP data to help their residents
3. Greater flexibility in approach
• Let claimants give access to advocates to support claims administration
• More opportunity for a face to face claim process for those who need it
• Streamline verification; give statement of identity for claimants to use elsewhere
• Give help on getting a basic bank account
• Flex processes: third-party deductions, backdating of claims, reporting childcare costs or self-employed earnings. Allow
time for claim management within the claimant commitment
15. 151515
Poll: What is the single biggest issue you
face with Universal Credit rollout?
18. grwpcynefin.org
Croeso Amcanion y Sesiwn. – Session Objectives
Grŵp Cynefin – An introduction
Why Policy in Practice?
How do we use Policy in Practice on a day to day basis?
What are the benefits of using Policy in Practice?
19. grwpcynefin.org
Mae Grŵp Cynefin yn darparu mwy na:
Grŵp Cynefin provides more than:
• 3,800 o gartrefi rhent i bobl a theuluoedd ar draws gogledd Cymru
• 700 o dai fforddiadwy i unigolion a theuluoedd sy’n awyddus i brynu cartref.
• 3,800 homes for rent to families and people across North Wales
• 700 affordable properties for individuals and families aspiring to become
home-owners
20. grwpcynefin.org
Ardal Gweithredu - Operating Area
Dros 7 Awdurdod Lleol
Across 7 Local Authorities
• Ynys Môn – Anglesey
• Gwynedd
• Sir Conwy – Conwy
• Sir Ddinbych – Denbighshire
• Sir Y Fflint – Flintshire
• Wrecsam – Wrexham
• Powys
21. grwpcynefin.org
Canllaw - Mae Canllaw yn rheoli’r asiantaeth Gofal a Thrwsio Gwynedd a Môn
Gofal a Thrwsio Conwy a Sir Ddinbych - Mae Gofal a Thrwsio Conwy a Sir Ddinbych
yn is-gwmni i Grŵp Cynefin.
Gorwel - Mae Gorwel yn darparu gwasanaethau yn cynnwys cefnogaeth i deuluoedd
sy’n dioddef cam-drin domestig, lloches, cefnogaeth i fobl hŷn a gwasanaethau plant a
pobl ifanc.
Canllaw - Canllaw manages the Gwynedd and Môn Care & Repair agency.
Conwy & Denbighshire Care & Repair - Conwy & Denbighshire Care & Repair is a
subsidiary of Grŵp Cynefin.
Gorwel - The services provided by Gorwel include support for families suffering domestic
abuse, refuge, support for older people and children and young people services.
22. grwpcynefin.org
Swyddfeydd - Offices
• Ynys Môn – Llangefni
• Penygroes (Caernarfon)Gwynedd
• Bala - Gwynedd
• Dinbych/ Denbigh Sir Ddinbych – Denbighshire
23. grwpcynefin.org
• Tenants that require extra support are
referred onto specialist provision such as
the Welfare Team, Tenancy Support,
Energy Wardens or Independent Debt
Advice etc.
Preventative work
– knowing our
tenants.
• Generic Housing Officers – fostering
relationships
• Knowing our tenants and understanding
their needs through profiling work and
using recourses such as our Customer
Insight Software (Housing Hub) and Policy
in Practice.
24. grwpcynefin.org
Tîm Lles
Grŵp Cynefin
• Support tenants with navigate the Social
Security system, issues such as benefit
claims, entitlements etc.
• Assist tenants to maximise their income
• Welfare Team Headlines 2016-17
• 396 Tenants assisted
• 769 Cases (3 per tenant avg)
• 66 DAF applications (£15,363)
• 27 Warm Home Discount (£3,780)
• 58 applications to Grŵp Cynefin’s
Hardship Fund(£16,000)
• £593,388 financial gains for tenants
• Benefit take up initiatives, PIP, AA, HB etc.,
Represent tenants at S.S. Tribunals (HMCTS)Grŵp Cynefin ‘s
Welfare Team
• Welfare Team Highlights
25. grwpcynefin.org
Why Policy in Practice?
Our Customer Insight software along with our experienced staff across
our offices tell us that we have a wide range of incomes and financial
capability amongst tenants.
The impact of Austerity, Welfare Reform and Universal Credit on our
low income tenants can lead to difficulties in sustaining tenancies.
Tenants unsure and apprehensive about transitioning to
Universal Credit
26. grwpcynefin.org
The challenge ahead
Universal Credit Full Service (UCFS)
2,482 Working Age tenants, with 931 working age Grŵp Cynefin
tenants currently in receipt of Housing Benefit
27. grwpcynefin.org
Universal Credit Full Service (UCFS)
The Challenge ahead!
231 o dan straen ariannol
231 under financial pressure
193 yn rheolwyr arian gwydn
193 are resilient money managers
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How do we use Policy in Practice on a day to day
basis?
Operating across such a large geographical area presents challenges
around consistency of the services that our tenants receive during key
stages of their tenancy
• Policy in Practice provides our officers with an easy way to discuss
and record both benefit entitlement and affordability issues with both
current and prospective tenants
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How do we use Policy in Practice on a day to day
basis?
Prospective tenants prior to sign up.
• Discussing affordability is a key part
of tenancy sign up.
• Benefit entitlement is only one side of
the coin!
• Frank discussions about household
expenditure are vital to identify any
potential issues.
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How do we use Policy in Practice on a day to day
basis?
Prospective tenants prior to sign up.
• Use Policy in Practice in addition to
Pre Tenancy Financial Health
Assessment (PTFA) .
• Gives frontline staff confidence to
have these frank and honest
conversations.
• Cases with either unsuitable Income
Expenditure profile or High Risk
PTFA will be referred onto the
Welfare Team, Energy Wardens
Project or independent Debt Advice.
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How do we use Policy in Practice on a day to day
basis?
Tenants experiencing a Change in Circumstances.
• The Roll out of the Natural Migration
phase of Universal Credit across
North Wales presents a challenge to
both staff and tenants alike.
• Whilst Insight highlights where these
tenants are, policy in Practice gives
us the tools to correctly advise
tenants.
• Policy in Practice’s ability to keep up
with changes to legislation (such as
UC Work allowances), enables us to
correctly advise tenants
32. grwpcynefin.org
How do we use Policy in Practice on a day to day
basis?
Tenants experiencing a Change in Circumstances.
• Better off in Work Scenarios can be
effectively modelled with tenants.
• Ability to model any increases in
expenditure (such as Child Care),
helps provide a realistic scenario for
tenants.
• Policy in Practice’s ability to keep up
with changes to legislation (such as
UC Work allowances), enables us to
correctly advise tenants
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How do we use Policy in Practice on a day to day
basis?
Tenants in Rent arrears.
• Policy in Practice allows us to revisit
Income and Expenditure Scenarios
and advise accordingly.
• Unrealistic expenditure profiles can
be flagged by Housing Officers, then
passed on to Welfare Team.
• This ensures that Financial
Resilience/ Capability work can be
done without duplication.
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How do we use Policy in Practice on a day to day
basis?
Tenants in Rent arrears.
• A record of discussions is
downloaded and sent to the tenant.
• Action Plans are used to ensure the
tenant understands what was agreed
and by when.
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What are the benefits of using Policy in Practice?
Housing and Welfare Officers need to be sure of their facts in order to
give tenants the correct information!
• If tenants understand when and how much they will receive under
Universal Credit they are more likely to engage with the benefit, this
is an essential part of maximising our tenants income.
• All of these features, correctly used, can ensure that our tenants
receive coherent and consistent good advice from Grŵp Cynefin
Officers, no matter where they live in North Wales.
• Introduction of Universal Credit makes this essential.
39. Next steps
Download Benefit and Budgeting flyer
Download Autumn Budget 2018 white paper
Request updated Universal Credit Roadmap
Short survey:
• We value your feedback
• Ask questions or clarifications
• Take another look at Benefit and Budgeting Calculator
• Sign up to our next webinar:
Social policy: what we learnt in 2018 and what this means for 2019 on Wed 12 Dec
at 10:30.
What is the single biggest issue you face with Universal Credit rollout?
Managing delays to payments
Securing Alternative Payment Arrangements
Gaining explicit consent from tenants
Getting tenants to pay
Other
What is the single biggest issue you face with Universal Credit rollout?
Managing delays to payments
Securing Alternative Payment Arrangements
Gaining explicit consent from tenants
Getting tenants to pay
Other
Mae y pwynt cymryd rhan mewn gymdeithas, yn un sydd yn bwysig I bob un ohonom.
The paticipation part is important to all of us .