By Dr Hannah Haycox, Network Development Coordinator (Liverpool City Region) at Resolve Poverty
Last month, Resolve Poverty was delighted to facilitate a lived experience engagement session with the national Child Poverty Unit, in partnership with lived experience experts, key VCFSE organisations and cross-sectoral leaders. The session was delivered as part of a broader event led by Champs Public Health Collaborative and key partners across the Liverpool City Region.
Established in July 2024, the UK Government’s Child Poverty Unit (CPU) is responsible for developing a national strategy to reduce and alleviate child poverty across the UK. The remit of the CPU includes identifying targeted, sustainable interventions that will tackle the systemic causes of child poverty. Insights from leading experts across the UK have been gathered by the national Child Poverty Unit, via a series of external engagement events, and in partnership with devolved and reserved levers.
On Tuesday 22 July, Resolve Poverty was delighted to join the Champs Public Health Collaborative and cross-sectoral leaders in sharing evidence-based, strategic responses to entrenched poverty. Our community-led event drew on the experiences of local residents who were struggling financially, as well as the expertise of key VCFSE organisations involved in the design and delivery of local services. The engagement session was followed by a discussion between regional leaders and the CPU, in which five clear priorities were shared and identified to deliver meaningful change.
Advocacy for evidence-based and strategic interventions to tackle child poverty continue across Cheshire and Merseyside and beyond. Recent initiatives include the ongoing implementation of the Champs Child and Family Anti-Poverty Framework for Action, the Beyond Innovation collaborative recommendations on tackling child poverty, and collective responses to the Government’s Pathways to Work Green Paper, including interventions from the Liverpool Access to Advice Network and the Poverty Research and Advocacy Network. Our own Income Maximisation Anti-Poverty Partnership (iMAPP) aims to further consolidate strategic anti-poverty interventions, by providing free, practical advice on income maximisation across different sectors.
In addition to our own advocacy at Resolve Poverty, as detailed in our Mission Critical report, the approaching announcement of the national Child Poverty Strategy presents an opportunity to complement and reinforce existing efforts to tackle poverty at local and regional levels. Sustained investment in the social security system, tackling stigma, and embedding meaningful participation of people affected by poverty throughout the strategy lifetime remain several of our key priorities. As one of our resident attendees poignantly shared with the CPU as our recent listening event drew to a close: “We will be watching.”
If you’re working with people who have lived experience of poverty, our Valuing Lived Experience training can help you make that engagement more meaningful and effective. You’ll gain insights into how to work alongside people with lived experience, learn practical ways to set up and facilitate lived experience spaces, and explore best practice around safety, inclusion, and valuing every voice.
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This article is featured in our 6 August newsletter.
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