The report, which was published this week, highlights the impact of a range of initiatives that have been implemented over the past three years (2014-2017) as part of the council’s previous Anti-Poverty Strategy, including:
- Paying all council staff at least the Living Wage and promoting the Living Wage to employers within the city. 53 employers in Cambridge are now accredited with the Living Wage Foundation.
- Promoting schemes that can reduce people’s utility bills, including energy and water saving measures. 165 home visits to vulnerable residents were carried out and 445 people switched to cheaper energy tariffs as part a collective-energy switching scheme promoted by the council
- Increasing the number of apprenticeships at the council to 12 and working through the Greater Cambridge Partnership to increase the number of apprenticeship opportunities across the city.
- Helping people on low incomes to get online and develop the digital skills needed to search for jobs, complete online applications and access public services. 215 learners attended drop-in digital sessions established in partnership with Cambridge Online and other organisations.
- Supporting credit unions, which provide vulnerable residents with access to loans at more favourable interest rates and help them to avoid loan sharks. 240 residents have joined credit unions in Cambridge.
- Constructing 162 new council-owned homes and making them available at affordable rent levels.
Evidence suggests that over the period of the council’s first Anti-Poverty Strategy in Cambridge there has been an improvement in some of the key measures of poverty.
For example, there has been an increase in wages for those on the lowest incomes, unemployment has reduced, and the number of households claiming Housing Benefit and Council Tax support has reduced.
However, the report also finds that despite the overall prosperity of Cambridge, there is significant inequality in the city. For example:
- The Centre for Cities[1] identified Cambridge as the most unequal city in the UK in 2017.
- In 2016, Cambridge had the fifth highest average weekly earnings (£603 per week) of any city in the UK[2], but those with the lowest 10% of earnings in the city received only £149.30 per week[3].
- While average incomes are high, significant numbers of people in the city are experiencing financial crisis. For examples, the numbers of people receiving food from Cambridge City Foodbank has steadily increased over the period of the first strategy, from 4020 in 2013 to 5066 in 2016[4]
- There is an educational attainment gap. Less than a third (28.1%) of pupils receiving Free School Meal achieved 5+ grades A*-C at GCSE including English and Maths, compared to two thirds (66.4%) of children not eligible for free school meals in the city.
- There is a gap in life expectancy. On average, men living in the most deprived areas of the city live 9.3 years less than men in the least deprived areas of the city, while there is a difference of 7.4 years for women[5].
The report recommends that the council continues to support existing programmes and services which help residents living on low incomes, and identifies areas where the council can have even greater impact. The revised strategy focuses on:
- Supporting residents to access benefits and responding to national changes in the welfare system.
- Working with voluntary sector partners to provide debt advice and financial advice to residents in financial crisis.
- Continuing to support residents in fuel and water poverty to reduce their energy and water bills.
- Working with partners to improve health outcomes for people on low incomes, including physical and mental health.
- Constructing new council homes and working with social landlords and developers to deliver more affordable homes.
- Continuing to promote the Living Wage to employers in Cambridge.
- Working with partners to support low income residents into higher paid employment and raise skills, attainment and life chances.
- Continuing to promote volunteering opportunities as a way for residents to develop their skills and increase their employability.
- Continuing to promote digital access for residents on low incomes.
Cllr Richard Johnson, Executive Councillor for Communities, said: “The council is resolute in its commitment to tackling the poverty and inequality that exists in Cambridge.
“We have taken forward a wide range of initiatives over the past three years, from increasing incomes by promoting the real Living Wage to employers, to helping reduce utility costs for low income families.
“However, despite the overall success of the Cambridge economy, significant poverty and inequality remains.
“Over the next three years, through our revised Anti-Poverty Strategy, the council will continue to support residents who are in poverty to improve their immediate financial circumstances, as well as increasing their opportunities and life chances in the longer term.
“We will work both through our own council services and with partners in the voluntary, public and corporate sectors.”
[1] Centre for Cities, 2017, Cities Outlook 2017. Based on the ‘Gini coefficient’, which is an experimental measure produced by the Office for National Statistics using data on wages, pensions, benefits and other income.
[2] Centre for Cities, 2017, Cities Outlook 2017 (source ONS, 2016, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), average gross weekly workplace-based earnings data)
[3] Annual Survey of Household Earnings (ASHE), 2017, Office for National Statistics (ONS).
[4] Cambridge City Foodbank, 2017
[5] Public Health England, Cambridge District Health Profiles. Figures based on the latest available data is for the 2013-2015 period.