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Dear Wiltshire Money Members,

Wiltshire Money Newsletter | February 2022 | No. 4

Welcome to the latest edition of the Wiltshire Money Newsletter. This newsletter contains news, information and training opportunities relevant to supporting financial inclusion locally, regionally and nationally. You can find out more information about Wiltshire Money on our website.

Wiltshire Money Training Programme 2022

Following the recent Witshire Money Forum, Wiltshire Money is developing its 2022 training programme. To respond to the issues identified at the Forum, this programme will focus on problems caused by the rising cost of living. We would like to hear the views of Wiltshire Money members about what training they feel they would benefit from in the following areas:

• Welfare benefits

• Universal Credit

• Diability Benefits

• Council Tax

• Debt

• Wellbeing

• Housing and Homelessness

Training Needs Analysis

We would like to invite all Wiltshire Money members to complete our Training Needs Analysis form.

Our aim is to better understand the training requirements of our members. By completing the Training Needs Analysis you are not commiting yourself or your organisation to participating in any training sessions or courses.

Once we have received your responses we will investigate appropriate training options and ask for expressions of interest for specific courses prior to booking.

The deadline for responses is Monday the 7th of March 2022.

As energy bills continue to rise, people across the country are feeling the effect on their finances. This week we’ve spoken to multiple news outlets about the crisis and how our clients have been affected. Ellie Matthews, specialist debt adviser at Citizens Advice Caerphilly Blaenau Gwent said: "A good percentage of our clients are literally in tears at the start of the appointment. They’re telling you they haven’t been able to put the heating on for weeks, that they’ve got bailiffs at the door, that they rely on a food bank and they haven’t got food to last them that day."

Read more in iNews, Mirror, Evening Standard or Morning Star

Are you struggling with living costs?

With the cost of living rising and energy prices increasing, many people are facing desperate choices. If you’re struggling to pay your bills, there are specific things you can do to sort out your finances. We can help you check what benefits and grants you can get, work out your budget, clear rent arrears and deal with gas, electric or water bills. If you've got lots of different debts and don't know how to deal with them or what to do first, check out our online advice.

Find out more on our website.

Clic Wiltshire

Clic Wiltshire is a free online support community for people with poor mental health that may be suffering with loneliness and isolation. Clic Wiltshire provides a safe place where people can talk about the issues they face. Please take a look at their flyer and be mindful of this service when working with clients.

Wiltshire Children’s Centre Sessions

We have some exciting new sessions running in March including Bear hunt themed sessions and the return of our Scrapstore sessions.

Please do promote with any families you are working with.

For more information on any children’s centre services please visit our website: www.wiltshirechildrenscentres.org.uk.

Money Advice Liaison Group (MALG): 2022 Events and News

MALG is a not-for-profit UK membership organisation whose purpose is to be the pre-eminent forum for neutral, non-partisan discussions between creditors, debtors, advisors, regulators and all organisations seeking to ‘work together to improve the lives of people with problem debt’.

MALG is the ‘missing link’ that ties together all the threads of the customer journey from the prevention to the cure of problem debt. We do this by acting as a thought leader, facilitator and accelerator of change, creating an open, non-judgmental, and dedicated forum for discussion, best practice, and joint action.

MALG provides Regional Membership to commercial businesses that are committed to supporting its purposes and are interested in networking, information sharing and wider engagement with like-minded organisations.

MALG holds meetings for members throughout the year. We plan to run a combination of Virtual and Face to Face events this year. You can see the details of both the National and Regional Meetings currently in the diary for 2022 here.

You can also find past copies of the CEO’s blog “Bobs’s Blog” and other pieces of relevant information we share with our members through the Latest News section of the website.

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.

RISE have published their North Wiltshire Children’s Centre Programme for 2022.

Services are free for Families with an under 5-year-old living under Wiltshire Council Local Authority. RISE are offering a blended delivery with courses accessible virtually or face to face.

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. They have provided a leaflet which summarises the support they can offer and the eligibility criteria.

They are also more than happy to send out hard copy leaflets for distribution to any clients who could benefit from this help. You can also refer clients to the fund by filling out the referral form. If you have any questions or requests, please contact Shareen Elnagy - Project Officer, Centre for Sustainable Energy.

Toy Swap Extravaganza

The Toy Swap Extravaganza will take place over 2 days during half term! Bring old toys to swap out for new pre-loved ones!

About this event:

Do your kids have toys they no longer play with? Do they have lots of unwanted Christmas gifts? Come and swap them for other toys they will love... FOR FREE!

The half term toy swap extravaganza will take place over 2 days. All you have to do is pick which day suits you & your children the best.

• Wednesday 23rd Feb = 10am - 12pm

There are 3 options available for those who would like to take part:

1. Bring unwanted toys and choose different ones

2. Donate unwanted toys for others to choose

3. Come and choose toys without donating!

Please only donate toys that are clean, complete, working & safe. There is a maximum of 5 toys per child to take away!

Refreshments will be available on a donation basis.

To help promote this event a leaflet is available here.

Quench Salisbury = Unit 1 Sussex House, Newton Road, Churchfields, SP2 7QA See less

If you have any questions, please email rachel@quenchsalisbury.com

This event is hosted by Quench Salisbury & Share Salisbury (A Library of Things)

Free webinar - Using data analysis to get ahead of the cost of living crisis

Rising living costs, particularly energy bills, are putting more pressure on low-income families and this is set to intensify as the energy price cap is lifted in April. Many of these households, having recently been hit by the removal of the £20 uplift to Universal Credit, were struggling to get by anyway so their financial outlook for 2022 looks bleak.

The inadequacy of the welfare system is highlighted by research showing that the basic rate of benefits is at its lowest for thirty years.

Against this backdrop we look at work that local authorities are doing with their data to tackle poverty in this webinar.

Join this webinar to learn:

• The impact of the pandemic and rising living costs on indebtedness

• Case studies of local authorities helping people to grow their financial strength

• The supporting role that technology can play

Webinar Slides: Budgeting support: Best practice ways to help low-income households

Over one fifth of UK households have less than £100 in savings to cushion themselves against economic shocks. With Christmas gone, frontline organisations anticipate more money-related enquiries from people in need as they seek support with their household finances.

Listen back to hear:

• The impact of the pandemic and rising living costs on indebtedness

• A view from the frontline with Citizens Advice Caerphilly Blaenau Gwent

• How advisors can make a difference

Rolling programme of our Domestic Abuse Courses: Freedom and You and Me Mum

Spurgeons Childrens’ Charity would like to reming you about their rolling programme of our Domestic Abuse Courses – Freedom and You and Me Mum. Their next round will be starting in January.

Please contact the centre for more information and/or complete a Course Introduction Form.

Course Timetable - January to March 2022

Please see our poster with dates and venues for courses next year, January to March. These might be subject to change but will give everyone an opportunity to see what we are offering.

In addition to these courses we also offer support for Breastfeeding via Microsoft Teams 3 times a week and our Domestic Abuse Courses which will continue on a rolling programme.

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

Upcoming dates and sessions are available here.

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

Deputy Chief Officer

• Salary: £34,000 - £37,000, depending on experience

• Hours: 37.5 hours per week

• Contract: permanent

• Location: Weston-super-Mare and home working

This is an exciting opportunity to join our Senior Management Team in this newly created Deputy Chief Officer role. We are an organisation that is going from strength to strength and we are looking for a highly motivated and dynamic individual to join us as we continue to build and develop our services. If you have demonstrable experience of project management, proven ability to manage people and a good strategic mind, and you are looking to develop your skills and embrace new challenges, then this role is for you.

Application pack is available on the website.

Closing date: Monday 28 February 2022 at midday

Advice Services Manager - Generalist Advice

• Salary: £29,000 – £33,000, depending on experience

• Hours: full time – 37.5 hours per week

• Contract: permanent

• Location: Weston-super-Mare and locations across North Somerset

We are looking for a highly motivated and dynamic individual to lead our multi-channel, multi-site, Generalist Advice Service. If you have demonstrable experience of delivering a high quality advice service, proven ability to manage people and you are looking to develop your skills and embrace new challenges, then this role is for you.

Application pack is available on the website.

Closing date: Monday 28 February 2022 at midday

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. The brochure can be found here. 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. They do this by receiving donations of old or unused laptops, tablets and PC’s from businesses or members of the general public. They spread their message mostly through referrals and word of mouth.

To be eligible, your organisation must be based in Wiltshire or a neighbouring county and be a school, nursery or pre-school, local council, town or parish council, charity, or voluntary organisation. Wiltshire Digital Drive is unable to accept applications from individuals. However, individuals are encouraged to get in touch with one of the above organisations and request that the organisation applies on their behalf. The application form is available through their website.