Effective use of data

for integrated and

preventative services

16th July 2020

Mark Fowler, Director of

Community Solutions, LBBD

This is us

• Barking and Dagenham is an Outer East London borough

• The borough is deprived and outcomes are not good enough

• The scale and pace of change in the borough is rapid

• Barking and Dagenham is responding to these challenges, with bold ambitions to transform the borough and how the council works

• We are establishing a new sense of common purpose across the borough alongside partners to tackle entrenched challenges facing our communities

Barking and Dagenham should be a borough that supports residents to achieve independent, healthy, safe and fulfilling lives, where everybody has the chance to thrive.

Scale of the challenge

For example…

• 70% of the borough’s residents who are receiving Universal Credit are in rent arrears totalling £1.2 million, which is 39% of all arrears in B&D

• Unemployment is 6.8% - second highest in London

• Gross annual pay is just over £30k – second lowest in London

• According to IMD, we are in the top 5 most universally deprived local authority areas in England

Compounded by the economic impact of COVID…

• 136% increase in households claiming unemployment related benefits

• 330% uplift in Universal Credit claimants

• 77% increase in Discretionary Housing Payments from this time last year

• 41.6% of borough’s residents furloughed or on self-employed income support

The borough aims to do things differently

Prevention, independence,

resilience

Inclusive growth

Participation and

engagement

• Focus on strengths

• Empower through participation

• Learn and act based on insight

• Work in partnership

• Get the basic right

• Prioritise prevention

• Understand don’t just assess

• Safety is everyone’s business

Financial support, money & debt are

cross-cutting challenges

To identify & resolve the root causes of a

person’s or household issue

By bringing together a broad range of services, skills,

support and expertise into a single offer

Foster resilience & independence

Reduce demandResolve

early

Savings

Community Solutions joins up our people services

Level of debt

Household composition – understanding vulnerabilities

Total

£84m

Of which 91% in-borough

Split across debt type:

• Council tax 64% (£54m)

• HB overpayment 32% (£27m)

• Rent arrears 4% (£ 3m)

Abbey

GascoigneHeath

ThamesBecontree

Wards with highest level of debt

Consistent across all

types of debt

Linked to households with active CSC

engagements in the last 12 months with a further

£4m linked to households with known children

6

An example – What is happening and why?

£0.5m

36% of debt

Understanding homelessness presentation

Household composition – understanding vulnerabilities

CSC engagements in the last 12 months and

10-15% of household have known children

1900applications

Over 2 years (17-19) of which 92% in-

borough – the wat

Risk categories with highest correlation to homelessness

Prior Homelessness

Debt & Financial

Exclusion

Fostering

Risky / Undesirable

Behaviour

Social Isolation Direct correlation between level of debt in ward and

homelessness.

51

An example - What is likely to happen?Using predictive analytics - The factors that appear in previous homelessness presentation mean we can identify changes in risk

profiles to trigger a case review

3871 households at

High risk of

homelessness

Debt is the most

common risk factor –

present for 98% of

households

94.7% of households

at High risk aren’t

receiving other council

services

HBOP (88.9%) and

Council Tax (71.6%)

are most common

debts

117 alerts issued to

Feb 20

Potential outcomes:

✓ No action

✓ Low level Intervention for

example a targeted letter or

text

✓ HAM hub service

✓ Tenancy support

✓ Care and support lead

worker contacted or referral

made

77% cases actioned

44% at risk after being alerted compared with

58% for those at risk that weren’t alerted

21 households have seen a

reduction in domestic

violence concerns

20 households with an average debt reduction of £300

30 households have seen

reduction in anxiety and

depression concerns

47 households have seen a

reduction in family

disruption

51 households with an increase in declared income – av. £800

And from analysing the unstructured data:

Review of data held currently (June) those cases alerted showed

An example – This is helping us to think about service planning

Dip sample RAG

rated

Persona

GREEN

Household situation has

improved compared to when

the alert was originally raised

i.e. debt/arrears reduced

Individual or family with

escalating council tax debt but

hasn’t yet increased much

beyond ~£1,000.

Is unlikely currently known to

Care & Support

AMBER

Household situation is broadly

the same as when the alert was

originally raised i.e. debt/arrears

are the same

Considerations Analysis of volume of alerts fitting

<£1000 of one debt, not known to

Care & Support.

Quick win targeting and tailoring

comms directing to self-help.

Cohort too small to definitively

conclude

RED

Household situation is

worse compared to when

the alert was originally

raised i.e. debt/arrears have

increased

Additional evidence these type of

alerts not best suited for Homes

and Money Hub alone.

Investigate linking with adults risk

alerts

Where next: Linking debt and vulnerabilities to create targeted strategies

We’ve seen an 18% increase in the

number of volunteering hours

453volunteers

Impact across the organisation

Intervention

Average/ estimate

cost Period

Current Number in system/pe

r yr

Current number x

cost

Est. increase

due to WR Rationale

Possible Increased Financial Impact

p.a.

Temporary Accommodation £4.70 per night 1621

2,780,825.50 20%

94.6% increase in homeless

approaches £556,165.10

Eviction £8,606.82 per property 64 550,836.48 31%

66% on UC in arrears compared to 34.8% non-UC £170,759.31

Child in Need (Tier 3) £328.00 per month 15125,951,232.0

0 2%

Likely impact in terms of neglect,

but limited £119,024.64

Child Protection £5,321.00 per annum 2981,585,658.0

0 2%

Likely impact in terms of neglect,

but limited £31,713.16

Accommodating LAC (foster placements) £88.00 per day 259

8,319,080.00 1%

Likely impact in terms of neglect,

but limited £83,190.80

LAC Supported Accommodation £455.00 per day 31

5,148,325.00 1%

Likely impact in terms of neglect,

but limited £51,483.25

Costs taken from average/actuals for housing and Childrens’ costs taken from NSPCC research 'The economic costs of child maltreatment in the UK' 2017

1,012,336.26

Reducing the Impact so far

ComSol and Elevate have been able to target low income

households and support them to maximise their income.

So far:

• Severe Disability Premium- 42 cases- £10,5391.86

• Severe Disability Premium (DWP) – 8 cases - £70 average extra income per week

• Pension Credit- 42 additional households claimed- £466,200 p.a.

• Housing Benefit Outreach- resolved 183% more HB issues at first visit

• Council Rents Outreach- helped 2156 customers with UC claims & arranged 728

managed payments for the most vulnerable

• Council Tax Discretionary Fund- 65 households awarded but also removed

£48,591.64 in court and bailiff costs

• Council Tax Support- 197 residents on UC invited to claim CTS to prevent arrears

• Free School Meals- 4.5m additional funding for schools & 3.5m for families