Category

• Emerging Local Practice

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Poverty impact

• Mitigation

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Poverty driver

• Reduce cost of living
• Provide benefit in-kind (material)
• Non-driver - improving quality of life

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Keywords

• COVID-19
• Food Insecurity
• Fuel Insecurity
• Food banks
• Advice and support

Aim

To tackle financial insecurity for adults and families across Argyll and Bute through targeted advice and intervention.

Summary

Post COVID legacy Project. Argyll and Bute’s partner incentivisation scheme provides service users with one-off cash funds to meet immediate (food, fuel poverty) emergencies in conjunction with targeted household and financial advice from Bute Advice Centre and anti-fuel poverty advice from ALIenergy Where grants are not suitable due to preset criteria, support is offered through referrals to Bute Advice and the Argyll and Bute Community Food Forum for food and prescription support.

What difference does it make?

The project has helped to mitigate child poverty, financial hardship and increasing health and wellbeing while reducing the need for families to suffer the indignity of relying on foodbanks. The project has also provided participants with skills to take positive actions for the future.

Key take-aways

• Project encourages active participation in financial household management services through the use of a cash incentive.
• Collaboration with third sector partners allows the council project to refer clients whose applications do not meet the criteria for financial aid on to partner agencies for food and energy aid.
• The cash first approach adopted by the FFFF provides a more dignified form of support for food insecurity than relying on food banks.

 

Organisations

Argyll and Bute Council, ALIEnergy, Argyll and Bute Community Food Forum, Bute Advice Centre

Location

Argyll and Bute (throughout)

Contact