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Dear Wiltshire Money Members,

Wiltshire Money Newsletter | June 2022 | No. 11

Welcome to the latest edition of the Wiltshire Money newsletter, containing local, regional and national news, information and training opportunities to support financial inclusion across Wiltshire. You can find out more information about Wiltshire Money on our website.

There’s still time to book a place on our specially developed training webinar - ‘The Housing Journey’. We’re also pleased to be able to offer Wiltshire Money members a chance to express their interest in training on employment law and managing people in the voluntary sector.

Training Webinar: The Housing Journey - Registration Open!

Two members of the Wiltshire Money Steering Group, Wiltshire Council and Curo Group, have developed a joint training webinar. This webinar will cover the whole of the housing journey, from housing options and accessing the housing list, through to the lettings process and tenancy sustainment.

The webinar will take place as follows:

• Location: online

• Date: Tuesday the 7th of June 2022

• Time: 11 AM to 12:30 PM

The training will cover the following topics:

• Accessing housing (Wiltshire Council)

  • Housing options

  • Joining the Council’s Housing Register.

  • Choice-based Lettings (Homes4Wiltshire).

  • The Council’s duty to homeless persons.

  • What confuses people about housing and what can be done to support them.

• Lettings and Tenancy Sustainment (Curo Group)

  • What brings a housing provider to give notice?

  • What should tenants do if they receive notice?

  • How does the lettings process work from a housing provider’s perspective?

  • How does the housing provider use the housing list?

The session will be delivered jointly by John Walker, Housing Allocations and Lettings Manager, Wiltshire Council and Sarah Rogers, Regional Customer Accounts Manager, Curo Group.

Full details of the webinar can be seen here.

Once you have registered, a joining link for the webinar will be sent to you nearer the time.

New Direct Sign-up for the Wiltshire Money Mailing List

We are happy to say that we have made joining the Wiltshire Money mailing list even simpler by integrating our new sign-up form into the Wiltshire Money website.

If you can think of any colleagues, contacts or organisations who would benefit from joining the Wiltshire Money mailing list, please encourage them to sign-up by following the link above.

Wiltshire Law Centre | New Pro-Bono Benefits Service

Wiltshire Law Centre is licenced as a registered Legal Aid provider which specialises in housing law. However, they have recently been awarded a Community Grant from Nationwide Building Society to assist pro bono with Welfare Benefit matters in the Southwest. In terms of the catchment area for the new Welfare Benefits Programme, they will assist prospective claimants in Wiltshire, Swindon and Gloucestershire.

They can offer free, specialised legal advice for those appealing an assessment decision for a Work Capability Assessment decision on their Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP). This will include representation at First-tier Tribunal hearings.

What is the Scope of the Service?

• Mandatory Reconsideration

• Lodging an appeal with the First-tier Tribunal

• Representation at the First-tier and Upper Tribunal hearings

Wiltshire Law Centre will be able to advise those who cannot afford legal advice and representation to navigate the legal process to challenge a negative benefit decision and – where they advise that there are at least reasonable prospects of success – they can prepare clients for an assessment or tribunal. As part of the programme, they will develop a pro bono volunteer programme and Wiltshire Law Centre are very keen to speak with potential volunteers (solicitors or law students).

Work Wiltshire | Family and Community Learning Courses

Online Family and Community Learning Courses are available during June for clients covering Saving Energy, Shopping for Less and Balancing a Budget. More information about WorkWiltshire can be found on their website.

Spurgeons Wiltshire Children’s Centres | June and July Sessions

Please see the poster for our June Scrapstore events running in Devizes, Westbury and Tisbury.

We also have lots coming up right across the county in June and July including:

• Bookstart – Westbury, Devizes, Tidworth, Bulford and Salisbury

• Early Words Together – Melksham and Devizes

• Five to Thrive – Bulford, Tidworth and Salisbury

• Ready to start School – Melksham, Tidworth, Devizes, Salisbury

For more information and specific dates please visit our website.

New videos on the Wiltshire Citizens Advice YouTube channel

Wiltshire Citizens Advice continues to grow its online video library. Don’t forget to subscribe to be kept up to date on the latest video content from Wiltshire Citizens Advice.

Salisbury SOUP is back!

Salisbury Soup is a community seed-funding dinner that is built to uplift, empower, and find stories of amazing individuals who are thinking creatively about the community; solving problems and creating opportunities.

Many cities across the globe have started Soups based on the model which started in Detroit in 2010. For information take a look at their page here.

SOUP IS:

• A collaborative event a public dinner a safe space

• A democratic seed-funding platform.

• A relational hub bringing together various communities

• A forum for critical but accessible discussion

• An opportunity to support innovation in Salisbury

What does it look like?

• People attend the event and pay a suggested donation of £5 for a meal of soup, salad and bread.

• 4 pre-selected projects have 4 minutes to share their idea and answer 4 questions from the audience.

• The projects can be about ANYTHING that benefits the community.

• The audience votes for their favourite.

• The project with the most votes goes home with the proceeds taken on the door to help get their project off the ground.

Who can pitch at Soup?

Anyone can apply to pitch at Salisbury Soup - there are only two rules:

1. The idea must be primarily for community benefit and within Salisbury.

2. Presenters cannot use technology to present their ideas.

When Is It?

The next event will be held on Wednesday 6th July 2019 6pm at Quench Salisbury with a deadline for pitch applications on Wednesday 20th May.

Like the Sound of It?

We need your support to make this work - help us to spread the word by sharing with your contacts and followers. We’re also on the look out for volunteers. Contact Rachel Stanford-Jason by email at rachel@quenchsalisbury.com to find out more.

Further details are available on the event poster.

The Fudge Trust | Charitable Grants

The Fudge Trust in Warminster can support people living in the BA12 area through the cost of living crisis.

The Fudge Trust are working with energy companies, such as OVO Energy to refer people to them if they need support with their energy bills. The Fudge trust are also able to help people with carpets, clothing, white goods, mobility and special needs equipment. Further information on what support they can offer individuals can be found on their website.

The Fudge Trust has a yearly pot of £100,000 which is renewed through the stock investments from the original donors which they split into £25,000 each quarter. The trustees each review any applications for help two weeks before their quarterly meeting and may contact applicants for further information before their decision is made. Applicants will know of the outcome of their application within the week after their meeting and funds made out to the companies that need to be paid, will be sent to successful applicants within two weeks of the meeting.

Application details can be found on the Fudge Trust website.

The form includes a number of prompts for the client or person supporting filling in the application, to help them gather all relevant information. As the application form needs a counter signatory, they would prefer if clients fill in the application themselves as it will need to be printed.

Wiltshire Community Foundation | New Grant Programme Now Open! Business Grants for Young People in Wiltshire & Swindon.

Are you supporting a young person who is interested in starting their own business or already running one?

Wiltshire Community Foundation is working in partnership with the South West Enterprise Fund (SWEF) to provide business grants of £2,000 to young entrepreneurs in Wiltshire and Swindon that are aged between 18-30. As part of the programme SWEF provides the opportunity to join a network of peers who are also in the early stage of starting their business to share ideas, experiences and learn.

Citizens Advice | We welcome the new support for people in financial crisis

Last week, the Chancellor announced a new set of measures to support people through the cost of living crisis. We welcomed the announcement. The cost of living crisis has resulted in record levels of people needing our help for crisis support - in May so far we’ve referred 750 people-a-day to food banks. For months, we’ve been saying the best way of supporting people is by providing targeted support through the benefits system. This package will provide much needed support to those who need it most.

Read more on Twitter.

Department for Work and Pensions | Cost of Living Support Announcement

Last week the Chancellor announced a package of support worth over £15bn to help households with the rise in the cost of living. This package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.

Inlcuded in the package of support:

• £650 one-off Cost of Living Payment for those on means tested benefits

• £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment

• Energy Bills Support Scheme doubled to a one-off £400

• £500m increase and extension of Household Support Fund

Further information about these measures can be found on GOV.UK including a cost of living support factsheet.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation | From pandemic to cost of living crisis: low-income families in challenging times

A new study from Loughborough University and JRF follows the experiences of 13 families living below the Minimum Income Standard during the second half of the pandemic. As they’ve faced an increasingly uncertain world, the research finds that families need greater stability and support to allow them to meet their needs.

TV Licensing | Dispensation for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Throughout 2022, events and initiatives will take place to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee culminating in a four day UK bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2nd June to Sunday 5th June 2022.

We know that many communities will come together to mark this historic occasion and during the bank holiday weekend, the BBC is offering local communities a special one-off TV Licence dispensation.

Celebratory events will take place throughout the weekend and the Platinum Party at the Palace, a special live event that will bring together some of the world’s biggest entertainers on Saturday 4th June, will be broadcast live on the BBC.

The dispensation will allow those celebrating by arranging events in town halls, community centres and streets across Britain, where TV is not usually watched, to screen the live programmes throughout the weekend without needing to purchase a licence.

We want to reach out to communities and those who are making arrangements to celebrate the event, to let them know that the dispensation is in place and therefore we welcome your support in making your service users aware.

By law, if live television or BBC iPlayer is viewed on any premises, those premises must be covered by a valid TV Licence. However, in exceptional circumstances, the BBC can grant a dispensation for the temporary viewing of television, so long as the viewing is for the sole purpose of screening an event which is judged by the BBC to be of national importance. The BBC considers that the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is such an event.

Aside from one-off dispensations, a TV licence is needed to watch or record live TV, on any device including a laptop, tablet or mobile phone. You need to be covered by a TV Licence to watch or record live TV programmes on any channel or device, and to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer.

If you need any further information to help you to support your clients, if you have any queries or if you would like to know more please contact Clare Clark (Communications Specialist - Stakholder Engagement).

Resolution Foundation Report

The Resolution Foundation has issued their latest report ‘Stressed Out’ which gives a prediction of the impact of the April 2022 energy price cap rise.

Phone and broadband social tarrifs

More companies have launched phone and broadband social tariffs for people on certain benefits. You can find the full list of deals now available on the Ofcom website.

Debt Advice Handbook 14th edition - available free online

The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) Debt Advice Handbook 14th Edition is now available for free online.

National Illegal Money Lending Team - Stop Loan Sharks Community Fund

The National Illegal Money Lending Team has launched the latest round of the Stop Loan Sharks Community Fund with a share of £160,000 funding up for grabs.

Charities, community groups, schools, and organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors can apply for grants of up to £5,000 for projects that raise awareness of the dangers of loan sharks and help make communities safer.

The closing date for applications is Thursday, June 30.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Wendy Loades - Liaison Officer (South West).

ICT Admin Support | Citizens Advice Wiltshire

Customer Services Advisor | White Horse Housing

Citizens Advice Wiltshire | Volunteer with us!

• Learn new skills.

• Gain confidence.

• Make a difference.

The majority of the people at your local Citizens Advice are volunteers.

As a volunteer you will have the opportunity to work with a fantastic team in a role that can really help to make a difference.

We provide training and ongoing support to all our volunteers.

Spurgeons Wiltshire Children’s Centres | Become a Parent Group Leader volunteer

We are looking for volunteers to be trained to become Being a Parent (BAP) course facilitators with Wiltshire children's centres. BAP is an empowering, feel good course which supports parents whilst up skilling them to co-facilitate a 'Being a Parent' course.

Volunteer Opportunities in the not-for-profit legal sector - apply now!

Wiltshire Law Centre is currently seeking volunteers to assist with the triaging of legal enquiries. Help us defend the rights of people who cannot afford a lawyer and improve access to justice in the South West.

No prior experience in the legal sector is required, and we will consider applicants based on their motivation, skills, and enthusiasm for our work. All training to be provided.

Employment Law and Managing People in the Voluntary Sector Training | Expressions of Interest

Wiltshire Money is happy to be working with Paul Archer Training to arrange a training session on Employment Law and Managing People in the Voluntary Sector. We would like to ask the Wiltshire Money membership for expressions of interest. The training is delivered via Zoom and costs £40 per trainee.

This training session addresses:

• Good practice and the best strategies

• The essentials of employment law, including:

  • Recruitment

  • Contracts

  • Equal opportunities

  • The two-year qualifying rule

  • Disciplinary procedures

  • Grievances

  • Sickness absence

  • Redundancy

  • Settlement agreements.

More information about this training session can be found here.

If you are interested in this training opportunity, please complete the expressions of interest form by Friday the 24th of June.

Employment Law and Managing People at Citizens Advice | Non-Citizens Advice Spaces Available

Later this year, Paul Archer Training is due to deliver a session on Employment Law and Managing People for Citizens Advice. Although principally aimed at Citizens Advice staff, it is relevant to all voluntary sector managers. Paul Archer Training is happy for staff from other organisations to book a place for this session.

Details are as follows:

• Location: online via Zoom

• Time: 9.00 AM to 1.00 PM

• Date: Thursday 8 September 2022

• Trainer: Paul Archer

• Fee: £40 per trainee

More information about this training opportunity can be found here.

Policy in Practice | Webinar slides: Migrating to Universal Credit during the cost of living crisis

Listen back to hear:

• Background to managed migration and the current context

• A view from the Harrogate pilot with Michelle Birley, The Guinness Group

• Who is better off and worse off from the move to UC with Graeme Connor from DWP

• What transitional protection is and who should wait for it to be offered

• Case studies of who is likely to be better off or worse off and get transitional protection

• Practical actions advisors and organisations can take

View the webinar slide deck here.

The Benefits Training Company | Introduction to Welfare Benefits

We have 10 spaces available on this course and are selling them at £75 per person. As well as offering this to our Wiltshire Money partners we've offered them to the wider network of local Citizens Advice offices and are allocating them on a first come first served basis. Please see further details here.

This is online training delivered via zoom and is scheduled for Thursday 9th June and Friday 10th June, 9.45-12.45. Both sessions must be attended.

To book delegates should contact the Citizens Advice Wiltshire Training Team directly at training@citizensadvicewiltshire.org.uk with the below details:

• Name

• Role

• Employer

• Email address

• Clear written consent to share their info with the Benefits Training Company

• Details of any accessibility requirements.

A confirmation email will be sent when the booking has been secured. An invoice will be emailed via the email address shared following the completion of the session.

Stop Loan Sharks Training - new dates added for June

Free online 1-hour training seminars - could you spot a loan shark?

With the cost of living rising there is a concern that people might turn to illegal money lenders. Learn more about the England Illegal Money Lending Team though our training seminars:

• 10:00 – TUESDAY 7TH JUNE 2022

• 10:00 – THURSDAY 9TH JUNE 2022

• 10:00 – TUESDAY 14TH JUNE 2022

• 10:00 – THURSDAY 16TH JUNE 2022

• 10:00 – TUESDAY 28TH JUNE 2022

• 10:00 – THURSDAY 30TH JUNE 2022

Links to the training will be sent to you before your session.

Funding for heating system replacements/repairs

The Centre for Sustainable Energy have funding available to home owners and private tenants in Wiltshire which can help with replacing or repairing heating systems (all types included) and installing smart heating controls.

Rise Trust North Wiltshire Children’s Centre Services 2022

The RISE Trust supports many projects in North Wiltshire. They manage four designated Children’s Centre buildings in Chippenham, Royal Wootton Bassett and Calne. They provide Children’s Centre services for the Corsham, Cricklade, Malmesbury and Purton areas. They also run Youth services, such as mentoring and youth groups. In addition to Children’s Centre-based and school-based activities they run events around Chippenham and North Wiltshire.

Wiltshire and Swindon Credit Union (WASCU)

Wiltshire and Swindon Credit Union (WASCU) have produced a general promotional brochure as a quick guide to who they are, what they do, and how they can help. WASCU would like to encourage you to share it with any interested parties.

The friendly WASCU team based in the Swindon office is waiting to hear from you and will answer your questions. Visit www.wascu.co.uk to find out more or call 01793 522216.

Wiltshire Digital Drive - applications open from schools, charities and voluntary organisations.

Applications are now open for the Wiltshire Digital Drive. The Wiltshire Digital Drive is a not-for-profit community interest company. Their main goal is to bridge the digital divide in Wiltshire by providing access to technology to people who fall between the cracks of not quite qualifying for government support, while at the same time being unable to afford up-to-date technology.