Why the socio-economic duty (and its meaningful implementation) matters

We want to see:

• Enactment of the socioeconomic duty under section 1 of the Equality Act.

• Safeguarding the intention of the duty by ensuring guidance on best practice implementation and monitoring is developed in partnership with people who have lived experience of socio-economic disadvantage.

The Poverty2Solutions award-winning collaboration merges lived and learned expertise of poverty and socio-economic disadvantage to revolutionise policymaking. We are determined break through outdated approaches by using participatory methods that prioritise people at the core. 

We have been calling on the UK government to ‘do your duty for equality, that is: enact the socio-economic duty and develop guidance on best practice implementation and monitoring in partnership with people who have lived experience of socio-economic disadvantage for a number of years. We launched our campaign to ‘Do Your Duty for Equality’ during a high profile event at the Labour Party conference in 2019 https://www.jrf.org.uk/blog/lived-experience-influencing-policy-how-we-did-it. and further developed this campaign https://www.poverty2solutions.org/do-your-duty-for-equality on a local level with other partners through the development  a Local Authority guide to implementing the duty as good practice (I will add a link)

Poverty2Solutions welcome the commitments in the Labour Party’s policy handbook to ‘enact the socioeconomic duty under section 1 of the Equality Act’ and embrace the positive development that would create a legal imperative for public authorities to pay ‘due regard’ to the desirability of reducing the inequalities caused by socio-economic disadvantage and poverty in their policy making and budgetary decisions. This would help to drive forward better policies and services and ultimately create a fairer society.

Simply passing the duty into law, however, will not in itself lead to better policy-making and fairer outcomes. This would simply be the first step in a longer and more ambitious journey.

As part of our next phase of Poverty2Solutions, we will be building on our work to date, collating powerful case making material and seeking support from our partners and allies to ensure a collective call to embed participatory policymaking approaches. We believe that in order to ensure the duty has the transformative approach intended by the spirit of the law, it is crucial that guidance on best practice implementation and monitoring is developed in partnership with people who have lived experience of socio-economic disadvantage.

Making the duty a success: partnering with people with lived experience

It is vital to ensure the duty drives forward the transformative approach to policymaking intended by the spirit of the law, and is not reduced to a tick-box exercise - as has been the case with some adherence to the public sector equality duty. To fulfil the duty’s potential, it is crucial that guidance on best practice implementation and monitoring is developed in partnership with people who have lived experience of socio-economic disadvantage.

This development work should include organisations like Poverty2Solutions, who are a core group of ‘experts by experience’ who have a wealth of expertise on which to draw.

What might the guidance cover

Poverty2Solutions have developed some core principles that should inform partnership work on developing the duty and associated guidance. These include:

• Recognising that the knowledge about how best to enact the socio-economic duty is held by those in communities who have lived experience of socio-economic disadvantage.

• Understanding that meaningful involvement is not about gathering a thousand stories, but about understanding the collective experience, truthfully represented.

• Accepting that real success comes when there is a bringing together of different types of expertise (lived experience and other expertise such as statistical analysis or policy knowledge) through collaboration and co-production.

What Poverty2Solutions seek is to drive forward and be part of a cultural shift so that policy is not done to, but rather with communities who have lived experience

What are lived experiences, why do they matter & what difference would it make if they were incorporated into policymaking?  

‘Lived experiences provides a holistic approach when addressing a problem. We are also bigger than our lived experiences. We bring additional expertise, insight and knowledge. So why are we ignored? Our expertise should be valued. It is this expertise that could make the change that we all need’

(Kathleen, Thrive Teesside)  

To find out more about Poverty2Solutions or get in touch with us via this link

Using lived experience of poverty to advocate for change- ATD

“On 6 April 2022, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation organised a Westminster launch of the Poverty2Solutions film, ‘Through the eyes and values of lived experiences: Listen up to level up‘. Two lived experience activists from ATD, Lareine Kenmogné and Tammy Mayes, spoke to present an example of how their experience informs their advocacy.”

Read the full article on the ATD Fourth World UK website here: https://atd-uk.org/2023/01/04/using-lived-experience-of-poverty-to-advocate-for-change/

On tour - creating our own merch!

As a group of people who originally came together to develop infographics based on our solutions to poverty, we love nothing more than getting creative and expressing our ideas and voice through visuals. The only thing that could add to this is screen printing our own merch for our upcoming events. In fact screen printing for an event is becoming a little bit of a P2S tradition as anyone lucky enough to snag one of our tote bags at the last labour conference attended will tell you!

We developed the concepts for our new range of T’s and totes as a group and handed them over to the super talented Hannah Miller to sprinkle a bit of illustrators magic over them. Once finalised it was off to the fantastic Leeds Print Workshop to print the things ourselves. With a bit of friendly (and patient) tuition from Nat off we went with or squeegees in our inky hands!

“Over the years of being involved in Poverty2Solutions, we have always enjoyed using our voices and sharing our experiences and solutions to Poverty in a creative way. Creating merch for our latest “Poverty2Solutions on Tour” campaign was great fun and a new and exciting way to get together"

Dylan

Screen printing has to be one of the most satisfying things you can do (and if you ever get the chance - do it!). It starts with your design being developed on a silk mesh screen, which you then squeeze ink through using a giant squeegee. After a pass or two you pull the screen up and, hey presto, your image is left on your t-shirt, poster etc below. Ok theres a bit more to it then that but that is main drift!

Povert2Solutions on tour

Our T’s have disappeared like hot cakes but if you turn up to one of the events on our tour you might be able to grab a tote or one of our pin badges based on the bus design. Check them out and sign up now

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Photos from the day

The final result!

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Please check out the people who made it possible!

Hannah Miller is a Deaf freelance illustrator who has worked on many projects related to poverty and lived experience. She based in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Leeds Print Workshop is a Co-operative membership-based printmaking studio at Patrick Studios in central Leeds. As well as providing facilities for our members, we also run a wide range of workshops and courses in different processes for members of the public.

Nat Searle is an artist based in Leeds, specialising in screen printing. Over the years Nat has been commissioned to do work all over the place including Latin America, Europe, the USA, and on a sailboat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Through the eyes and values of lived experiences: Listen up to level up

Listen Up to Level Up. How Poverty2Solutions are using their short film to advocate for the need to implement a legal duty to put the voice and experience of lived experience of socio-economic disadvantage at the heart of policy making 

As part of celebrating our 5 years of unity and solidarity, Poverty2Solutions held an event in collaboration with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation: Through the eyes and values of lived experiences: Listen up to level up | JRF  on the 6th April 2022.

This event offered a fantastic opportunity to bring a balance of lived experiences, Westminster perspectives and other stakeholders’ perceptions to what was a lively and engaging event. This was an opportunity to debate the value and key principles associated with adopting a participatory approach to policy making

“There is a growing recognition that people who have direct experience of problematic policies have skills, expertise and insight that can be harnessed to develop more effective solutions for change”

The Poverty2Solutions film is inspirational and makes visible the ‘real’ issues surrounding poverty.  It has the power to create discussions, mobilise and motivate people and highlights how the insight of lived experiences of poverty is essential to creating fairer policies

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Poverty2Solutions on tour

We are pleased to announce that our Listen Up to Level Up film is now going ‘on tour’ and we are hosting a number of  local events. These viewings have the ability to act as a catalyst to a wider discussion within each of our local communities and will ensure ‘voice’ is central to our messaging.

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Thanks to Inspired Youth for working so hard with us on the video

Levelling up and listening to left behind communities: making the case for addressing rising levels of inequality in partnership with people with lived experiences of poverty

It has now been 18 months since the country first went into lockdown. As we begin, slowly and hopefully to move out of the pandemic, it has never been more important to make sure that we really do ‘build back better’ and create a better future for us all.  Doing this properly means politicians and policymakers must start to actually learn from and work with those with the expertise that only comes from lived experiences. As someone who lives in an area too often dismissed as ‘left behind’, working and living alongside people experiencing poverty and the social security system first-hand, I witness and learn from this expertise every day. 

The pandemic has been challenging for us all and it has amplified the existing difficulties and challenges faced in low income communities. But it has also shown us how policymaking too often ignores the expertise of experience; and fails to bring it to bear on decision making. Creating a sustainable road map out to a better future will need us all to come together, to ‘do your duty for equality’; and tackle persistent inequality head on. A just and compassionate society demands this and it really is the only way to ensure that no one is left behind.

At a time of high economic uncertainty, and with a government committed commitment to ‘levelling up’, there has never been a more important time for people with direct experiences of poverty to be involved in policy and decision-making, contributing their expertise and ideas for change. As Sue, a member of community group Dole Animators puts it: 

‘Too often people are portrayed as numbers on paper, or as stats and percentages. It is very easy for policy makers to dismiss who they represent when they aren't considered as individuals. Having someone describe their lived experience is not only brave but essential if we want positive and long-lasting change. They can show us our failings, our lack of compassion and humanity. If a policy affects someone why shouldn't they have the right to be involved in its making?’

Poverty2Solutions, a coalition of three community groups(ATD Fourth World, Dole Animators and Thrive Teesside) led by people with direct experiences of poverty, want the UK government to commit to working with people with lived experiences of socio-economic disadvantage in policymaking processes and decision-making, in order to ensure that policies that have a direct impact on those in or at risk of poverty make a positive and effective contribution to stemming the rising tide of poverty and inequality.  

Despite the pledges of successive governments, rates of poverty and levels of inequality remain unacceptably high. Covid-19 has hardened and exposed these inequalities, strengthening the case for targeted and effective action.

Experiences of the past 18 months show us that harnessing the expertise that comes with experience can lead to more targeted and effective policy responses. Whilst the government introduced a range of bold and compassionate policies at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, had they engaged with people with lived experiences as the crisis developed, their response would have been better and more effective. For example, groups with experience very quickly flagged issues tied to digital exclusion and Free School Meal replacements. Had these groups been listened to and learned from, robust and practical responses could have been better developed that would have mitigated, at least in part, negative consequences that we have seen such as a widening educational attainment gap. Working in partnership with groups with lived experiences would have enabled the government to develop targeted policy responses in an efficient and timely manner, as opposed to taking the more knee-jerk and reactive response we’ve witnessed.

Poverty2Solutions have been working together for almost five years to develop solutions to poverty that are grounded in our own expertise and experiences. We know what would make a difference in the communities that we live in; creating a fairer and more equal society and we want to be part of conversations about how we improve policies for all of us; we want to ‘build back better.’ 

The re-launch of our report, Do your duty for equality.Making the case for addressing rising levels of inequality in partnership with people with lived experiences of poverty will happen at the Conservative Party Conference. Poverty2Solutions will be partnering with Bright Blue to host a fringe event: “Leaving no-one behind: the people’s voice in levelling up” . 

Poverty2Solutions are a bit different from the usual policy works, journalists and parliamentarians that you typically find in attendance at the Conservative Party Conference. But we are attending and speaking up because we want to work with politicians to share our expertise and experiences, and to collaborate in exciting and innovative ways to create positive change. 

The possibilities that can emerge by working directly with people with direct experiences of poverty and social security is genuinely transformative. I really hope politicians will listen, and grasp the opportunity we’re holding out to draw on the expertise in communities just like mine.

Behind the Scenes: On curve-balls and authenticity

 As members of Poverty2Solutions, Amanda Button and Patricia Bailey helped to script and act in a new film. Here, they discuss what it was like for them to be involved in this project.

Patricia: You were playing the part of a teacher with a disability.

Amanda: It was supposed to be two roles at first: one teacher, and one person with a disability. But disabled people can have jobs too, so I said 'let's combine the two'. I was remembering the geography teacher in my secondary school. He had multiple sclerosis so walking was hard for him. His classroom was on the third floor and I don't know how the hell he did it. He'd always be struggling to manage all the stairs while kids would be romping past him. Two or three times, he nearly got knocked down. 

I was glad to play that role in the film. But back in February, I was very sceptical about the film. We were working with Kev and Scott of Inspired Youth. They're professionals so I was concerned about our ownership of the film.

Patricia: But then they agreed to let us know in advance who they might show the film to. Kev and Scott were a bit bossy, but that's fair enough—and they were very down to earth. It was brilliant to chat with them and work with them. 

Amanda: Once we got to know them, I felt reassured. They'll always get our okay before showing the film around because our faces are in it. But while we were filming, I threw them a curve-ball, just to keep them on their toes. They had me walking down a street by myself but not doing anything else. So I said 'hang on a minute' and I went inside and grabbed Patricia to ask if she wouldn't mind being part of a scene that I was doing. I put her in the scene so I could hand her a flyer and invite her to a meeting. That gave the scene a bit of authenticity.

Patricia: Originally I wasn't even supposed to be on screen. I was a bit nervous, even though I was only an extra. But it was bloody brilliant! I wouldn't mind doing it again!

Unity Is Strength with Poverty2Solutions

On the face of it, Patricia Bailey, Ruth Patrick and Dan Farley don’t have much in common.

One works at a train station in London, the second lectures in Social Policy at the University of York, and the third is a graphic designer in Stockport. Five years ago, however, they came together, united by their passion for social justice and their desire to put people experiencing poverty at the heart of decisions affecting them. Together with a handful of others, they embarked on a adventurous journey to create Poverty2Solutions, an ambitious funded project aiming to design solutions to poverty. Never did they imagine that Poverty2Solutions would still be alive and kicking nearly half a decade later. In an interview with Patricia,Ruth and Dan looked back at how the journey began and where they are now. This article is based on that interview.

In 2016, Ruth says she “hadn’t long finished my PhD. I had been in a long-standing relation with Dole Animators and had been inspired by work done by ATD Fourth World and Thrive Teesside”. She approached these three groups and, together with Dan, they started sharing their ideas about how to solve poverty: Poverty2Solutions was born. Later, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation got involved and the coalition gained impetus. Ruth and Dan believe that different ingredients made the recipe for Poverty2Solutions successful.

First, as already mentioned, is their commonalities: they share the same vision and common ambition to create a fairer society. They believe that in many ways, the existing structure, “the government and different schemes don't do what they are supposed to do—or they make things worse”. Not the least deterred by challenges, Poverty2Solutions is committed to trying and ultimately get rid of poverty and completely change the way institutions work. 

Second is their diversity. Members are really different and bring different things. They don't always agree, but their shared values motivate them to be open and straight with each other and overcome disagreements. Over time they have built a relationship of trust to the point where “it feels like three families coming together as an extended family sometimes, where people who may not have lived experience of poverty but have got similar values and have a specialism to offer are sort of cousins”. These relationships make them stronger.

Third is their drive, readiness and determination. Dan, Ruth, and all the activists involved invest their time in Poverty2Solutions because they are passionate about the cause and believe in what they are trying to do. That drive and determination always pushes them forward and often emboldens them to be more ambitious.

Fourth is their willingness to tap into each other’s expertise. They learnt that they have different skills and that they can achieve a lot when they draw on one another's strengths. 

Last but not least is their camaraderie and sense of humour. They have got to know one another's idiosyncrasies, which helps appreciate the other, love their personality and know what will help each person feel most welcome.  Having a laugh together while working hard definitely helped them get on with each other and overcome hurdles.

Of course, external and internal challenges remain, and the size of the task ahead is daunting.  Poverty2Solutions is “trying to do really hard stuff and there's lot of headaches and heads scratching of how to move forward all together, making sure everybody can input how they want to input”. Remaining barriers include the challenge for people with lived experience of poverty to make their voices heard in policy debates. The abrupt transition to virtual meetings due to the Covid-19 pandemic has also been difficult to negotiate including being faced with the digital divide. But thanks to their common goals, diversity and energy, Poverty2Solutions is always up for a challenge and eager to forge ahead. 

The current work with Poverty2Solutions includes aiming to ensure that debt deductions from Universal Credit and legacy benefits are not drivers of hardship and destitution as a way to demonstrate that its possible and necessary to have lived experience at the heart of policy making. 

Due to time constraints and other commitments, Ruth and Dan are less active while continuing to be engaged with this innovative work with Poverty2Solutions. Ruth still supports in the background with facilitation and writing with her expertise in social policy. She also acts as an advocate for the coalition. Dan remains a key resource on the design front providing creative ways to engage everyone to fully participate and . Both are proud of what Poverty2Solutions has achieved. They continue to learn a lot and this inspires them in other areas of their work.  

Gwennaelle Horlait - ATD Fourth World and Poverty2Solutions

Contributing to the road map out of the pandemic – Do Your Duty for Equality. Making the case for addressing rising levels of inequality in partnership with people with lived experiences of poverty.

This week marks a year of lockdown, but it also marks another year that has gone by with the opportunity missed for politicians and policymakers to actually learn from and work with those with the expertise that only comes from lived experiences. As someone who lives in an area too often dismissed as ‘left behind’, working and living alongside people experiencing poverty and the social security system first-hand, I witness and learn from this expertise every day.

The pandemic has been challenging for us all, but it has also shown us how policymaking too often ignores the expertise of experience; and fails to bring it to bear on decision making. As we slowly leave lockdown, the road map out to a better future will be reliant upon the urgent need to ‘do your duty for equality’; and tackle persistent inequality head on. A just and compassionate society demands this and it really is the only way to ensure that no one is left behind.

At a time of high economic uncertainty, and with a government committed commitment to ‘levelling up’, there has never been a more important time for people with direct experiences of poverty to be involved in policy and decision-making, contributing their expertise and ideas for change. As Sue, a member of community group Dole Animators puts it:

‘Too often people are portrayed as numbers on paper, or as stats and percentages. It is very easy for policy makers to dismiss who they represent when they aren't considered as individuals. Having someone describe their lived experience is not only brave but essential if we want positive and long-lasting change. They can show us our failings, our lack of compassion and humanity. If a policy affects someone why shouldn't they have the right to be involved in its making?’

 Poverty2Solutions, a coalition of three community groups (ATD Fourth World, Dole Animators and Thrive Teesside) led by people with direct experiences of poverty, want the UK government to commit to working with people with lived experiences of socio-economic disadvantage in policymaking processes and decision-making, in order to ensure that policies that have a direct impact on those in or at risk of poverty make a positive and effective contribution to stemming the rising tide of poverty and inequality. 

Despite the pledges of successive governments, rates of poverty and levels of inequality remain unacceptably high. Covid-19 has hardened and exposed these inequalities, strengthening the case for targeted and effective action.

Experiences of the past year show us that harnessing the expertise that comes with experience can lead to more targeted and effective policy responses. Whilst the government introduced a range of bold and compassionate policies at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, had they engaged with people with lived experiences as the crisis developed, their response would have been better and more effective. For example, groups with experience very quickly flagged issues tied to digital exclusion and Free School Meal replacements. Had these groups been listened to and learned from, robust and practical responses could have been better developed that would have mitigated, at least in part, negative consequences that we have seen such as a widening educational attainment gap. Working in partnership with groups with lived experiences would have enabled the government to develop targeted policy responses in an efficient and timely manner, as opposed to taking the more knee-jerk and reactive response we’ve witnessed.

Together, Poverty2Solutions have been working together for almost five years to develop solutions to poverty that are grounded in our own expertise and experiences. We know what would make a difference in the communities that we live in; creating a fairer and more equal society and we want to be part of conversations about how we improve policies for all of us; we want to ‘build back better.’ 

On Friday, we'll launch our new report, Do your duty for equality. Making the case for addressing rising levels of inequality in partnership with people with lived experiences of poverty which sets out how we can best include the expertise that comes with experiences in policy making debates.

The possibilities that can emerge by working directly with people with direct experiences of poverty and social security is genuinely transformative. I really hope politicians will listen, and grasp the opportunity we’re holding out to draw on the expertise in communities just like mine.

#DebtAwarenessWeek

#DoYourDutyForEquality

Debt Awareness week – We need more focus on the causes of debt. (Poverty2Solutions)

This week marks Debt Awareness week and Poverty2Solutions applaud the fantastic work carried out by many charities throughout the UK who are supporting people who face insurmountable debt. For too many households, debt is an everyday fact of life. 

This week, we call on all of us to look not just at the impact of debt on individual lives; but also at the drivers of debt; and the Government’s own role here as a debt collector. 

Appreciating that this past year has been challenging and Covid-19 has amplified the issues surrounding debt, Poverty2Solutions’ transformative way of working is to collaborate and merge areas of expertise in order to address the causes and practices that continue to keep people locked in poverty.

More people are now in debt and government debt has reached epidemic proportions. £13.5bn is today owed in personal debt, which includes council tax, rent arrears and benefit overpayments now owed to the government (Collecting Dust , Centre for Social Justice)

Despite the increasing numbers of people presenting with problematic government debts, the public sector has failed to keep pace with the advances made by the private sector in collecting debt in ways that are more manageable for people experiencing problems with debt. 

Problem debt can ruin lives and outmoded repayment practices have the potential to exacerbate already difficult financial circumstances.

“I was left with £111 a fortnight to live on.. how is anyone supposed to manage on that. I didn’t know why so much was coming out of my Universal Credit and when it would end…Why didn’t anyone talk to me about this and ask if it was ok?”

— Member of Thrive

Poverty2Solutions are an award winning coalition of 3 groups (ATD Fourth World, Dole Animators and Thrive Teesside), each of which is led by lived experience of poverty and socio-economic disadvantage . Named as one of the top 100 Changemakers of 2020 by the Big Issue, this coalition advocate for participatory approaches to policy making and are asking the UK government to: 

•       Work in partnership with people with lived experiences of the social security system to ensure debt deductions from Universal Credit and legacy benefits are not drivers of hardship and destitution. 

•       To ensure repayment of UC advances are also viewed as a debt that many people are forced to borrow to survive the minimum five-week wait for their first UC payment

To do this effectively, Poverty2Solutions value merging areas of expertise and insight to address the complexity of the problems, working together and building inclusive relationships. 

To address the issue surrounding debt deductions from benefits, collaboration and co-designing of policy will be essential when moving beyond the emergency measures put in place to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. Longer term planning, with the voice of lived experience at its heart, is an opportunity to ensure safeguards and a fairer and more resilient system is put in place. Having people who are affected by policies as part of the decision making processes is key to ensure they are workable and effective and also honours the fundamental principles associated with democracy.

It is about informing debate that has the potential to add value to the work carried out by decision maker/policy makers by bringing insight and expertise from organisations and individuals with lived experiences of the issues at hand.

Tracey Herrington, Thrive. Member of Poverty2Solutions www.poverty2solutions.org

Our Presentation for Building a Human Rights Bridge out of Poverty- Good Practice in Local Advocacy