Organisations and agencies from across the county met recently to look at how cost of living pressures continue to present very real challenges for Warwickshire residents.
Hosted at the Camp Hill Education Sports and Social (CHESS) Centre in Nuneaton this was a follow up event to a successful cost of living summit held in November 2022. The purpose of the event was to reflect, take stock and plan for the future.
Support and commitments put in place over the last 12 months include:
- Launch of the website www.costoflivingwarwickshire.co.uk - designed to signpost to information, advice and resources from partners across the county.
- Training and resources provided for frontline workers.
- Funding of a network of over 160 Warm Hubs.
- Funding into voluntary transport; community pantries; food banks and over 100 voluntary and community projects.
- Funding for additional capacity for Citizens Advice and Act on Energy
- Distribution of Household Support Fund. The HSF is a Department for Work and Pensions initiative which awards money to local councils to support families and individuals who are finding it hard to meet household costs.
Cllr Heather Timms, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Environment, Climate and Culture said: “Longer-term planning is becoming more important as some cost of living pressures move from being a temporary problem to becoming more of a permanent fixture. This links to the countywide work around Levelling Up, especially in our most vulnerable communities, that are disproportionately hit by the pressures.
“When we came together in 2022 for our first cost of living summit, a key principle we agreed on was the need to collaborate across all agencies and sectors, and over the last year we have seen a huge amount of support provided through different schemes and initiatives.
“While it’s important to reflect on all the positive activity that’s gone on over the last 12 months, we must now turn our attention to the future. Much of the data indicates a harder winter ahead for many residents and communities than last winter.
“This follow up event is focused on how we can continue our commitment to work together to support as public sector agencies and organisations; how we continue this response; and how we step it up to meet the challenges of this year.”
Recognising the need to continue this conversation Warwickshire County Council has published the latest episode of its Let’s Talk Warwickshire podcast series featuring speakers from the cost of living event. On the podcast they talk about the ongoing challenges presented by the cost of living crisis; how things have changed in the last year; and the pressures that continue to be faced by residents.
The episode is available to listen to now
There is comprehensive help and advice on Warwickshire’s cost of living website on debts, money and benefits, housing support, food and energy, jobs and skills, health and wellbeing, and support for businesses.
You can listen to previous episodes of Let’s Talk Warwickshire on PodBean and other podcast platforms