A new survey is now open at haveyoursay.lambeth.gov.uk, and the council is inviting views from all Lambeth residents, especially who are directly impacted by the drivers of poverty, including low pay, insecure housing and poor health.
The council has already worked with the community helping households worst impacted by the cost of living crisis, and also those who needed support during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The council wants to use these experience and available funding to develop a new longer-term approach to tackling poverty which is still impacting on too many households in the borough.
Disproportionate impact
Cllr Nanda Manley-Browne, Lambeth’s joint Cabinet Member for Equalities, Governance and Change, said: “We know that issues such and low pay, lack of access to opportunity and financial distress affect many people in Lambeth.
“They also disproportionately impact our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic residents.
“As a council we are determined to work with our communities and with our voluntary sector partners to tackle the barriers residents face, and putting in place the support they need to make a difference.
“The council already runs a variety of support programmes with local organisations and charities, including our cost of living response plans which has seen more than £15million spent on helping local people in need deal with the spike in inflation and energy prices over the past few years.
“We are through this initial crisis period, but many of the challenges remain, so we want to make sure we’re working as effectively as possible to direct the right resources, to the right people, namely those who most need help.
“Resident involvement is crucial in ensuring we get this right so it’s really important that local people take this opportunity to meaningfully contribute by sharing their concerns relating to poverty, their experiences of accessing support and what they would like to see from a fresh approach to tackling the issue.”
Get involved
Feedback received will help shape Lambeth’s new Tackling Poverty Strategy, and the survey will remain open until Monday 13 January. Residents with expert experience in this area of work who are interested in contributing to the strategy’s development further should contact costofliving@lambeth.gov.uk.
