The Communities Team at Perth and Kinross Council led on the delivery of the Cost of Living Fund, which opened in October 2022 and closed in January 2023. Initially £320,000 was made available for community groups and organisations to apply for. Due to the high demand, this was extended in December 2022 and a further £100,000 was added. Therefore, a total of £420,000 was available for the purposes of creating warm spaces in communities and providing individuals with food supplies and warm home packs.

Addressing Community Need

Perth and Kinross Community Plan: Local Outcomes Improvement Plan 2022 to 2032 (pkc.gov.uk) states that:

“Since we published our last Community Plan in October 2017, the world has dramatically changed in ways we could not have foreseen back then. At the time of writing, the immediate effects of the pandemic have eased, but the longer-term impact will be felt for years to come on household incomes, on mental and physical health, on learning and skills, on employability.

There have been additional impacts on particular vulnerable groups. The current cost of living crisis is further exacerbating the daily reality and worry of poverty for many within our communities. The climate emergency creates additional challenges for us all and will, if not tackled with creativity and courage, create further inequalities.” 

Description

The CLD team led on the delivery and distribution of the funds with the fundamental values of Community Learning and Development; self-determination, inclusion, empowerment, and collaborative working embedded throughout.

The Fund application process involved a short application form which was assessed on a weekly basis by a panel of staff from the CLD team until all funds had been distributed. The team met weekly to assess applications, gather information from organisations about their proposals within a seven day timeframe. There were 95 successful applicants who received £170,000 for the costs of warm spaces A further £250,000 was awarded for the costs of food support and/or warm home packs to 85 successful applicants. This equated to 120 different organisations receiving funding for warm spaces and/or warm home packs/food support.

Community groups worked together in localities to agree timetables to cover as many days of the week as possible. To avoid duplication of funding and service delivery, the CLD team linked applicants up and supported partnership delivery. Information regarding availability of warm spaces was promoted through the Perth and Kinross Council website, social media, community groups and existing networks.

Impact

Initial evaluations demonstrated the positive impact this fund had on communities and individuals with approximately 16,000 people benefiting from the fund. The fund supported capacity building across communities with 120 different organisations funded to deliver. Over 1000 volunteers were involved in delivering warm spaces, warm home packs and food supplies.

Evidence suggests that the project has helped to tackle social isolation, provide residents with safe, warm spaces and provided residents with resources to stay warm at home and food supplies. The project has created more opportunities within the community, which will continue beyond the project timeline of October 2022 to January 2023.

Many individuals also reported that the project had a positive impact on the following:

• improved mental and physical health
• increased inclusion and sense of community
• reduced financial embarrassment
• Increased support in rural areas.

At the point of writing,78 evaluations were returned from the 120 organisations in receipt of funding, equating to a 65% response rate.

Information from the responses evidence:

• 16,575 people benefitted from the fund (roughly 11% of the population of Perth & Kinross)
• 1049 volunteers were involved in delivering warm spaces, warm home packs, food and activities
• 28 organisations had spent all their funding at the time of evaluation
• 32 organisations had NOT spent all their funding at the time of evaluation
• 18 organisations spent more than allocated and topped up from their other funds

Next steps

Funding for 2023 to 2024 will look slightly different. An allocation of £200,000 has been set aside for the provision of warm spaces and warm home packs. The local CLD workers will have a presence in the 12 ward areas, where they will hold workshops with key organisations and groups to establish a cohesive plan for each locality. This will include timetabling activities/warm spaces in each locality to avoid duplication of provision and create more opportunities for local people. Each locality has a proportion of money allocated, based on their population. This is essential to uphold the CLD values and make best use of the funding available.

Reflections

We have learned that there is a need to:

• improve cohesive partnership working in localities to avoid duplication of services
• ensure that funding is distributed equitably across the whole of Perth and Kinross, particularly in relation to the needs in rural communities
• support groups and organisations to ensure they are adopting best value approaches
• change the language to ensure there is reduced stigma attached to the ‘cost of living’

“The fund has allowed us to increase our understanding of the needs prevalent in our communities and provide resources for them to tackle these inequalities at a local level. To have over 1000 volunteers involved is phenomenal and demonstrates the sense of community across all areas of Perth & Kinross.”

“I took satisfaction in being part of a team which is helping people in the community, helping bring people together to prevent isolation, and realising the importance of the human need for contact and communication between each other.”

“Throughout the delivery of the Cost-of-Living Fund, I have learned the importance of community engagement, partnership and collaborative working and I have a better understanding of the needs of our diverse communities more clearly.”

Further Information

Contact Karen Evans, Locality Team Leader, Perth & Kinross.