London Child Poverty Commission - London Stakeholders Event

Wednesday 13th June 2007

The London Child Poverty Commission stakeholder event was held on 4th May 2007 at the London Councils’ Offices. Voluntary and community organisations, charities, housing, faith, BAME and women’s organisations discussed child poverty and related issues with Commissioners. Carey Oppenheim, Chair of the London Child Poverty Commission, spoke briefly about the work that the commission has already influenced, achievements and future plans. Kate Green chaired the event.

Objectives of the event were:

To raise awareness of the work of the Commission amongst stakeholder and grassroots bodies
To hear stakeholders’ perspectives on poverty in London in order to inform the future work of the Commission
To identify ways that stakeholders can support the work of the Commission

The stakeholders were invited to discuss:

Whether the Commission’s agenda covers London’s key child poverty issues?
The opportunities for their work to support the Commission’s agenda
Whether they would like to continue to be engaged and if so, how?

The following report outlines the outcomes of the roundtable. Please note that these do not necessarily reflect the views of the London Child Poverty Commission or its sponsoring organisations.

The Commission needs to be outspoken in its views how they want London to be portrayed.

London’s economic powerhouse image can alienate or demoralise some groups who may feel excluded from this success. London’s transitional population needs to be considered in policy making as people and communities develop and make socio-economic progress. National level public policy must address the unacceptable levels of inequality within London, which are detrimental for the city. Issues raised included:

Multiple Deprivation – there is a lack of information and data on multiple barriers to employment;
Informal Economy and Low Pay – people risk exploitation by taking low paid informal jobs affect wages which has an adverse effect on local economy.

Funding and Commissioning

Structures and processes at a local level are important and it is important that the correct targets are in place. Funders and commissioners need to take a more sustainable approach to funding. Many projects close due to short term funding and have to be reinvented later.

Local authorities can avoid re-inventing the wheel when commissioning services through learning from voluntary organisations and sharing good practice.

Local authorities need to improve strategic commissioning across borough boundaries and also need to develop better funding strategies.

There is a need for more coherencies in local work/ service provision. Stakeholders felt that there was a lack of coherent work locally. The Commission’s current work with the Association of Director of Children services (London) will look at ways in which children services can link with regeneration officers and housing officers within boroughs.

Support, advice and more

The voluntary sector plays a large part in supporting and advising people who avoid using mainstream services that they find intimidating and out of reach.

Social landlords provide a wide range of services beyond housing, like training and reaching out to excluded communities. Some housing associations offering supplementary core statutory services sometimes do not get enough money to provide the variety and level of services required.

Extended schools

There is great potential for extended schools to offer holistic support to families living in poverty. For example, childcare within London needs to be flexible and accessible and reach the most disadvantaged people. However, under some Local Area Agreements (LAAs) cuts in funding may seriously reduce extended school provision even before they are fully established.

Green space

It is vital to recognise the importance of green space within communities, and to acknowledge the potential conflict with London as commercialisation and economic development eat into open spaces. The loss of green space as commercialism grows affects children and so this issue is important in tackling child poverty.

Learning

There needs to be investigation into the failure on the ground and what can be done to improve this. The Commission should look at why things are not working on the ground and what can be done to improve this. Case studies could look not only at good practice but where practice is not effective and the reasons why?


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About us Child poverty facts Good practice Publications & resources News Events Links to other sites	London Child Poverty Commission - London Stakeholders Event Wednesday 13th June 2007 The London Child Poverty Commission stakeholder event was held on 4th May 2007 at the London Councils’ Offices. Voluntary and community organisations, charities, housing, faith, BAME and women’s organisations discussed child poverty and related issues with Commissioners. Carey Oppenheim, Chair of the London Child Poverty Commission, spoke briefly about the work that the commission has already influenced, achievements and future plans. Kate Green chaired the event. Objectives of the event were: To raise awareness of the work of the Commission amongst stakeholder and grassroots bodies To hear stakeholders’ perspectives on poverty in London in order to inform the future work of the Commission To identify ways that stakeholders can support the work of the Commission The stakeholders were invited to discuss: Whether the Commission’s agenda covers London’s key child poverty issues? The opportunities for their work to support the Commission’s agenda Whether they would like to continue to be engaged and if so, how? The following report outlines the outcomes of the roundtable. Please note that these do not necessarily reflect the views of the London Child Poverty Commission or its sponsoring organisations. The Commission needs to be outspoken in its views how they want London to be portrayed. London’s economic powerhouse image can alienate or demoralise some groups who may feel excluded from this success. London’s transitional population needs to be considered in policy making as people and communities develop and make socio-economic progress. National level public policy must address the unacceptable levels of inequality within London, which are detrimental for the city. Issues raised included: Multiple Deprivation – there is a lack of information and data on multiple barriers to employment; Informal Economy and Low Pay – people risk exploitation by taking low paid informal jobs affect wages which has an adverse effect on local economy. Funding and Commissioning Structures and processes at a local level are important and it is important that the correct targets are in place. Funders and commissioners need to take a more sustainable approach to funding. Many projects close due to short term funding and have to be reinvented later. Local authorities can avoid re-inventing the wheel when commissioning services through learning from voluntary organisations and sharing good practice. Local authorities need to improve strategic commissioning across borough boundaries and also need to develop better funding strategies. There is a need for more coherencies in local work/ service provision. Stakeholders felt that there was a lack of coherent work locally. The Commission’s current work with the Association of Director of Children services (London) will look at ways in which children services can link with regeneration officers and housing officers within boroughs. Support, advice and more The voluntary sector plays a large part in supporting and advising people who avoid using mainstream services that they find intimidating and out of reach. Social landlords provide a wide range of services beyond housing, like training and reaching out to excluded communities. Some housing associations offering supplementary core statutory services sometimes do not get enough money to provide the variety and level of services required. Extended schools There is great potential for extended schools to offer holistic support to families living in poverty. For example, childcare within London needs to be flexible and accessible and reach the most disadvantaged people. However, under some Local Area Agreements (LAAs) cuts in funding may seriously reduce extended school provision even before they are fully established. Green space It is vital to recognise the importance of green space within communities, and to acknowledge the potential conflict with London as commercialisation and economic development eat into open spaces. The loss of green space as commercialism grows affects children and so this issue is important in tackling child poverty. Learning There needs to be investigation into the failure on the ground and what can be done to improve this. The Commission should look at why things are not working on the ground and what can be done to improve this. Case studies could look not only at good practice but where practice is not effective and the reasons why?