Liza Dresner

Dear All,

Thank you for sharing your work, your energy and your service information with us this year. We’ve have been grateful to share so much of your great work with the hundreds of organisations in the network, and to see so many of you at our online events. A particular warm welcome to the 52 members who joined our network during 2020.

There is no doubt that food poverty hit the headlines in a big way this year so we have pulled together here some work from national players as sources for useful campaign and food provision information:

• ASDA are providing free hot and cold meals for children under 16 at all of its stores until 31^st Dec
• Children’s Right 2 Food has a fantastic visual dashboard showing the links at every point between low income, food insecurity and nutrition.
• Independent Food Aid Network with a strong history of campaigning against food poverty they also have an interactive map of their food banks, often part of wider community initiatives, and may have different access criteria.
• Magic Breakfast helped get the school breakfast bill through its first reading and provides breakfasts in schools for children living with food poverty. Please do read our Spotlight on Magic Breakfast at the end of this newsletter.
• Sustain tireless campaigners against food poverty. Read their report on London’s Food Response to Covid and lessons to be learned and their blog on Holiday Food Provision.
• Trussell Trust have announced an update to their strategic goals. They are now, changing communities, changing policy, and changing minds. They continue to have a list of their affiliated and supported local foodbanks all of which use a voucher system to access.
• UNICEF are for the first time in history helping feed children in the UK.
• More locally, Hackney Migrants and North London Action for the Homeless have joined forces with Eat Hackney to produce a Vegan Cookbook to fund their work. For a donation of £8.00 or more this is being made available to our readers with a special later order deadline than the one specified on their website.

Looking ahead to next year we are mindful of the upcoming London Mayoral Elections and what these might mean to London. We have written an explainer for why they matter to our sector and how you can influence policy for the next four years.  We will be lobbying the candidates ahead of the elections, if you or any of the families you support would like to raise issues with us – please do let us know. It is worth noting that many of London’s citizens are not registered to vote and unless they are registered they will not be able to take part in this or any election.

We will also be running London Challenge Poverty Week again later in the year, so do confirm if you’d like to be involved in any of the planning or creative projects for the week.

From our members and friends:

• Acting Out in partnership UCL, Pempeople and The Ubele Initiative are looking for young people aged 18 – 25 living in Peckham, the Old Kent Road or Brixton to take part and help create film and creative content that expresses how young people feel about their neighbourhood, changes that are happening and their hopes for the future. The next workshop is on 13th January from 6.30 – 8.30pm. To reserve a place on the workshop please contact Kelsea Sellars.
• ATD4th World and Just Fair have produced a video to mark World Human Rights Day and they are hosting a webinar  on January 21^st from 11-1.30 with Amnesty UK to illustrate how human rights are a ‘Bridge out of Poverty’.
• Article 39 and a number of other organisations working in the youth criminal justice field have produced a report calling for an end to child imprisonment.
• Children’s Rights Alliance for England have led on and produced a new report from 90 organisations, a submission to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child warning the many ways that children’s rights are “worryingly low” on the UK government’s political agenda. 4in10 contributed.
• CPAG have released another Poverty in the Pandemic report highlighting the impact Covid has had on already low-income families.
• Early Years Sector Coalition have launched a new campaign Birth to Five Matters to develop guidance for the sector, by the sector.
• Health Foundation and the Institute of Health Equity have published Build Back Fairer the Covid-19 Marmot Review on Health Inequalities not just in light of Covid but highlighting how inequalities that were already present have just been exacerbated by the virus.
• Ipsos Mori poll showed that 62% of the public support the £20 uplift to Universal Credit.
• Joseph Rowntree Foundation have published a new report on Destitution in the UK and made the slides of their webinar on the topic available online. Their annual report, UK Poverty 2020, will be launched by a Zoom webinar on January 15th at 11am.
• Maternal Mental Health Alliance has commissioned member the Centre for Mental Health to produce a report on the challenges the voluntary sector is facing and witnessing as a result of Covid. Please complete this 10-minute survey. Deadline 8 January but pre-Christmas would help.
• Renters Reform Collective is a new coalition of 19 organizations dedicated to housing issues; who have come together to campaign for a second reading of the renters reform bill to ensure that legislation improves the safety, security and condition of privately rented homes.
• Revolving Doors have launched a survey looking at the experiences of 18-25 year olds’ experiences of policing. The aim is to inform the National Police Chief Council to develop their strategy for policing and young people. The survey should take participants about five minutes to complete. They will also have the option to enter a prize draw for a chance to win one of four £50 Amazon vouchers. Deadline is 1st January.
• Scope have released new figures showing how families with disabled children have been ‘pushed to the brink’ during this pandemic.
• Shaw Trust has partnered with the DWP to manage JETS (Job Entry Targeted Support). This is a new initiative backed by a £238 million government investment and is dedicated to supporting those left jobless due to Covid-19.
• Young Roots have been chosen to be the recipient of Aoife Hinds participation in BBC1’s Celebrity Mastermind on the 9th January. We wish her the best of luck.

Local Authority and Statutory Updates and Participation Opportunities :

• All Party Parliamentary Group on Poverty is meeting on Zoom on Thursday 14th January at 2pm – 3:30pm. They are calling for submissions on the impact of ending the temporary £20 uplift in universal credit and tax credits in April 2021, as well as the impact of not extending the uplift to legacy and other benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are asking organisations for short written submissions of the key points the APPG should consider to inform its representations to Government. Please send these on email by the 10^th January stating whether you would be available and willing to give evidence at the meeting. The Zoom link is here. But you must let them know you plan to attend.
• Barnet Council has received just over £986,000 from the government’s COVID Winter Grant Scheme. Working in partnership with the Young Barnet Foundation, the grant scheme supports families and other households financially affected by COVID-19 to meet food and heating bills. The fund will provide vouchers through a range of local partners, additional supplies to foodbanks and grant awards through the Barnet Community Response Fund.
• Employment allowance scheme. If your National Insurance bill was less than £100,000 in the last year you now need to claim your £4,000 discount. It is no longer being automatically applied.
• Equalities and Human Rights Commission have published their report on how Covid has affected equality in the UK.
• Hackney Have your say on how the borough allocate homes and support people in housing need. Read the proposals in full, find out what they would mean, and give your views. You can also speak to Council officers at Q&A sessions being held on the following dates and times: 12 January 2021 7-8:30pm; 27 January 2021 12 noon-1:30pm; 9 February 2021 6-7:30pm; 24 February 2021 4:30-6pm. You must  pre-register to attend one of the sessions. If you would prefer to speak to someone on the telephone, you can call 020 8356 2929.
• Havering Adult Education College are offering a number of free or for £1.00 courses and provide a free laptop loan service for Havering residents taking online courses.
• Tower Hamlets are providing support for children in need during Christmas and February school holidays. Providing vouchers worth £25 to spend on food over the Christmas period. Any child who is eligible for statutory free school meals during term time will receive support. It is worth checking other Local Authority websites to see if they are doing the same or similar.

Funding Opportunities:

• Bailey Thomas have opened a new grant round to support organisations serving those with severe learning disability.
• Family Fund and BBC Children in Need are running an Emergency Essentials Funding Programme to fund items for individual families such as cookers and washing machines. They will also supply toys and other items where needed.
• Justice Together has launched a new strategy and grant rounds to ensure people who use the immigration system can access justice fairly and equally, so that they can get on with their lives. There are funds available for National level influencing projects that connect lived experience, front-line advice and influencing strategies to create lasting change.
• National Lottery Community Fund and The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport have announced a new fund to reduce loneliness by helping people feel more connected. To be eligible, charities and community groups will have to have an income of £50,000 or less. The Local Connections Fund will be split into two rounds of funding – each with its own application window.  The first application window will open on the 5th January 2021 and close on 26th January 2021. The second applications window will open in the summer.
• Youth Covid-19 Support Fund, open to grassroots youth clubs, uniformed youth groups, and national youth and umbrella organisations, to help to mitigate the impact of lost income during the winter period due to the coronavirus pandemic, and ensure services providing vital support can remain open.

To end a difficult year on a positive note, we are delighted to feature member organisation Magic Breakfast in our Spotlight feature below. If you would like to be the next organisation to be featured please let us know.

Thank you to all our great readers and remember this network depends on what you would like to share so please do keep information and knowledge coming.

We wish everyone a peaceful, happy and healthy 2021 and we are looking forward to working with you in the new year.

Laura, Keisha and Liza