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Ending Child Poverty everybodys
business Localism and Local Authorities
what can they do best? Michelle Kennedy LGID
Associate Child Poverty Adviser
Ending child poverty everybodys business
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Tackling all the causes and consequences of child
poverty needs a joined up approach and much of
this depends on high quality local services ,
leadership and knowing your community
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Ending child poverty by 2020 what does it mean
for local authorities?

• The Child Poverty Act requires Local Authorities
  and their Named Partners to
• Cooperate to reduce, and mitigate the effects of,
  child poverty in their local area.
• Produce local child poverty needs assessments.
• Prepare joint local child poverty strategies.
• The Guide produced on the duties signals the
  importance of local authorities both to
  support consultation around the needs assessment
  but also to consider contribution to the local
  area strategy.
• The emphasis is not on areas meeting the national
  targets at a local level but on developing
  local strategies across the building blocks and
  driving action that makes a difference to the
  deprived communities in their area. Therefore all
  local areas should be making a contribution.

Ending child poverty everybodys business
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Local Authorities doing what they do best
Leaders and champions
Service commissioners and providers
Accountable and responsible
Partners
Experts and influencers

• Improvement and creativity

Ending child poverty everybodys business
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Leaders and champions

• Political leadership
• Corporate /executive leadership
• Community leadership
• Child Poverty Champions

Ending child poverty everybodys business
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Service commissioners and providers

• New ways and opportunities to provide / support
  pathways to employment for parents.
• Co-location co-design of joint provision
• Better use of resources , data and intelligence
• Devolution / pooling of assets and budgets
• Greater understanding of families from cradle
  to grave

Ending child poverty everybodys business
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Improvement and development

• Local Authorities leading on sector improvement
  and development learning from the best
• Child poverty pilots , including Innovation and
  Community Budgets
• New ways of working with Families with Complex
  Needs
• Creative Councils and radical transformation
• Localism is what we do !

Ending child poverty everybodys business
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So what else?

• Some challenges and chances ahead
• Poverty Fatigue?
• Welfare Reform
• Housing Benefit changes
• Localism Bill
• Pace of change

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So what can we do ?

• Lead by example as an individual and
  organisation
• Champion your communities
• Engage in and learn from partnership
• Use the Child Poverty Needs Assessment and
  strategy to identify and work with places and
  families most at risk
• Use the Building Blocks to see where you
  fit in
• Use new flexibilities such as those with JCP
  to work and commission differently and co-locate
• Embed child poverty in existing or planned
  policies , service redesign and culture ( no need
  to re-invent the wheel)
• Support families to take greater
  responsibility for themselves and their children

Ending child poverty everybodys business
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Ending Child Poverty everybodys
business Child Poverty Community of Practice
http//www.communities.idea.gov.uk/comm/landing-
home.do?id1362979 Michelle Kennedy LGID
Associate Child Poverty Adviser
Ending child poverty everybodys business