Report of the Deputy Chief Executive & City Treasurer and Director of Inclusive Economy attached

The Executive considered a report of the Director of Inclusive Economy, which highlighted the breadth of work undertaken by the Council and our partners to tackle the issue of poverty including progress made to date and the importance of maintaining a focus on tackling poverty for the future.

Poverty in Manchester was a huge challenge and continued to have a significant impact on the life and outcomes of too many of the city’s residents. In the 2019 Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), Manchester was ranked as the 6^th most deprived local authority in the country.  This was reflected in the number of children living in poverty.  At the end of March 2020, the End Child Poverty Coalition estimated that around 46,700 children (42%) in Manchester were living in poverty.  The scale of the challenge had been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which caused a 90% rise in claimant unemployment (unemployed people claiming benefits) between March and May 2019. This rise was reflected in the demand for food support, with the Council’s food response team delivering food parcels to an average of 250 households a week.

Since the launch of the Family Poverty Strategy in 2017, good progress had been made, and the report highlighted a wide range of examples of current activity and best practice across various service areas.

Poverty remained a difficult challenge for Manchester and affects the life-chances and outcomes of too many of our residents.  The Our Manchester Strategy recognised through the fair and equitable city theme the need  to work hard to make sure that Manchester residents, particularly those most vulnerable were connected to those opportunities as the best way of building wealth and reducing poverty. 

The Executive Member for Health and Care stressed the Council’s commitment to addressing poverty within the city.  It was noted that the Council had always responded to the challenge using direct and targeted programmes of work. It had redoubled its efforts in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which came at a cost of £56m for 2020/21 and was forecast to cost £144m over 2021/22. As well as specific interventions, the Council had supported people experiencing poverty through our wider range of core services. 

To mitigate against and reduce poverty in the city, the Council would need to continue to provide residents with a wide ranging and extensive support offer, not just in tackling the causes and symptoms of poverty, but also in making sure that families could participate in cultural and leisure activities that improved quality of life. 

The Assistant Executive Member for Antipoverty advised that in 2022, the Council had the opportunity to refresh the current Family Poverty Strategy 2017-22 to ensure it was fit for purpose, had the greatest possible impact and targeted a broader cohort of residents.  He advised that he would be leading on the process to refresh the strategy would begin in early 2022, and like the original strategy would place significant emphasis on listening to and learning from the lived experience of residents experiencing poverty

The Deputy Leader (Finance) referenced the Council’s overall commitment to tackling poverty in becoming a Living Wage Foundation accredited employer and in partnership with the Executive Member for Health and Care and the Assistant Executive Member for Antipoverty, had recently launched Manchester’s bid to become and accredited Living Wage City.  The Deputy Leader (Finance) also advised that she would be writing to Government setting out the case of 80,000 residents who stood to lose over £1000 per year with the loss of the additional £20 in Universal Credit.

Decisions

The Executive:-

(1)       Note the progress that has been made in delivering the Family Poverty Strategy 2017-22.

(2)       Note the Council’s commitment to tackling poverty and its overall offer to residents.

(2)       Note the recommendations of the Poverty Truth Commission Report as outline in Appendix 3 to the report

(4)       Endorse the suggested approach to the refresh of the Family Poverty Strategy to address poverty more broadly and support all residents experiencing poverty including those with and without children.