Tackling poverty

Around one in 4 Sheffield people live in poverty at any one time. We are committed to working to address poverty and inequality for all the people of Sheffield.

Tackling Poverty Strategy

Our Tackling Poverty Strategy 2015-18 sets out how we will work towards addressing poverty and inequality. At the heart of the strategy is a commitment to those in Sheffield who are struggling to meet minimum needs – children, families, people and communities.

The strategy's development was overseen by the Tackling Poverty Partnership Reference Group. This was chaired by Dean Peter Bradley, with representatives from various organisations including statutory, business and voluntary and community and faith sectors.

We have developed a set of strategic programmes under the following 3 headings:

1. Change the way we do things so that tackling poverty is always a priority.
2. Take action to make things better for children and adults who are struggling and in poverty now.
3. Tackle some of the root causes of poverty and give our children the best chance of a poverty-free future.

The Action Plan to the strategy is a 'living document'. It will be developed, added to and strengthened over the course of its lifetime. We will develop actions, create opportunities and respond to changing needs and emerging evidence relating to adults and children in poverty.

The combined impact of the specific actions within this strategy is hard to quantify and poverty in Sheffield is also influenced by national and international circumstances. We will review our progress regularly as a partnership to ensure we are on-track and manage any risks as early as possible 

In order to assure themselves that delivery is on-track as well as maintaining a focus on the overall vision, the partners will review a set of key indicators and will receive an annual report on progress against the actions set out in the strategy.

Review of progress 2016-17

We aspire to be the fairest city in the country and we are determined to keep fairness and tackling poverty as a priority for partners across the city.
 

We’ve looked at the facts and figures and we’ve set out some of the most important issues.

• poverty is getting worse
• people are increasingly struggling to meet their basic needs
• the structures and conditions that would help people in poverty are under pressure and being cut
• poor and vulnerable groups are disproportionately negatively affected
• poverty leads to further negative impacts such as poor health and wellbeing
• these problems are combining to create a substantial and increasing gap between income and the cost of meeting needs in many households

The Tackling Poverty Strategy Partnership uses a range of local indicators to understand the depth, persistence and impact of poverty in Sheffield and how it changes over time. We also use national research and have been assisted by the JRF. 

We and our partners have achieved some significant progress against the targets over the past year. Our Full Annual Review Report features the full range of impressive work that partners continue to do.

Leaving poverty at the school gates event 2017

As part of our commitment to tackling poverty this event explored the role of schools in tackling inequality and poverty. The keynote speaker was Jim Davis, Head of Youth Engagement at the Children’s Society. He facilitated the Children’s Commission on Poverty from 2012-2015 and now leads on the delivery of a poverty proofing process for schools.

The event also included:

• a facilitated discussion about what schools are doing already to address poverty and its impacts on children and young people
• feedback on 2 projects in the City, the Holiday Hunger Project and the Period Positive Project
• an update from Sheffield Citizen’s Advice on the main changes to benefits and the impacts of welfare reform
• an introduction to the Sheffield Fair Money Guide

Financial Inclusion Strategy

People’s financial position has profound implications for their wellbeing. A strong financial base enables people to plan and invest in their needs and aspirations, ensuring that they are in a position to capitalise on opportunities (for example new homes, new jobs or investments) or to cope with unexpected events (everything from the fridge breaking to an unexpected health issue). Equally, being less financially resilient or vulnerable can have profound knock-on implications on people’s lives, for example through debt and the impact on physical and mental health.

The introduction of a financial inclusion strategy and action plan provides the city with an opportunity to build on the excellent work that is already being done to improve financial wellbeing of its residents. 

Fairer Money Sheffield Guide  

This guide contains information about the range of services and providers in Sheffield that can work with and help people who are struggling to make ends meet or who need other types of support.

The guide is organised according to the challenges that people sometimes face such as paying for fuel or domestic abuse and includes suggested questions that might help you to access help for your particular situation or, if you are supporting someone else, to help them feel able to confide in you.