Cost of living: Spotlight case studies

Healthy Start is a national scheme which helps young families and those pregnant on low incomes to access nutritious food, milk and vitamins. Figures are published on its take-up at local authority level, with one of the best rates of take-up being County Durham. In February 2023 the England average uptake was 63.5 per cent, while the figure for County Durham was 73 per cent.

Bath & North East Somerset is a small unitary district with just over 196,000 residents. Rising demand for support such as food banks and debt advice has shown that local people are being affected by the cost of living. The council has taken the approach to work with local trusted organisations to engage with people who have experience of food insecurity.

Surrey County Council has been utilising the strength of the voluntary, community and faith sector to reach those communities that are most in need of extra support.

Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council formalised their strategic partnership in February 2022 following a six-month trial period with a joint chief executive. The agreement sees each council retain its sovereignty and independent governance while exploring meaningful co-working opportunities to use their combined resources for the good of local residents.

Warm Homes Suffolk is an initiative shared across Suffolk’s county, district and borough councils, has been granted funding to assemble a ‘Fuel Poverty Retrofit Team’ to support residents most affected by the cost of living.

Wandsworth Council is committed to supporting residents through cost of living pressures and has developed a range of immediate actions through a community-focused cost of living programme.

Wiltshire Council has enlisted the help of library staff and community groups to provide basic energy advice to local residents. The staff and groups can volunteer for online training on issues around energy efficiency, providing an accessible community-based resource across the county.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has been seeking to add value to the work of its 10 member councils by leading a whole system response to the cost of living pressures. This includes data gathering, sharing information, and practical advice for particular groups of residents..

Helping disadvantaged residents to maximise their income and improve their financial resilience has long been a priority for the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Both COVID-19 and cost of living have brought an added impetus to this work.

Hertfordshire’s strategic approach has been to maintain and strengthen the cross-council, cross-service, multi-partner approach that proved effective during COVID-19, and has been refined and built on for cost of living support.

Poverty prevention and alleviation is a priority for East Devon District Council. The council set up a working panel in 2020 to lead the creation of a poverty strategy and action plan, and then to monitor progress against it. The strategy has five objectives – including to help people on low incomes build financial resilience and reduce indebtedness.

Leeds City Council has added a new breakthrough priority on cost of living to its ‘Best City Ambition’ (the overall vision for the future of Leeds), recognising that partners need to work together to harness the capacity and capability in the city.

As part of its approach to cost of living, Bristol City Council has created a network of more than 80 warm and accessible community-led spaces in established places of connection such as community centres, children’s centres and faith spaces, providing extra activities and capacity during the winter.

‘A Fairer Stockton-on-Tees’ (FSOT) is the borough council’s long-term strategic framework for tackling inequalities. The immediate focus is on ensuring that the council and its delivery partners can help local residents navigate the cost of living.

Developing a cost of living action plan at Kirklees Council has been a joint effort between the public health and corporate policy teams, with strong councillor involvement.

Brighton & Hove City Council is working with community organisations that share its goal of a healthy, sustainable and fair food system.