Updates from the team behind 'A Robust Safety Net'

November 2021: healthy meals and good advice

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, an unacceptable number of Londoners were already struggling to make ends meet.

This crisis has made life tougher for those people and pulled hundreds of thousands more into financial hardship. See the latest figures on the labour market update.

The pandemic has deepened existing inequalities. Our work on recovery is about tackling those longstanding inequalities. We know that by taking action, we can protect those who are struggling to keep their heads above water.

We’re working to ensure that by 2025, every Londoner can access the support they need to prevent or escape financial hardship. You can read more about the background to this mission.

Below you’ll find examples of the work we’ve been doing since our last update.

Helping everyone access healthy, tasty meals

The Food Roots Incubator programme is supporting 10 food partnerships in London.

In November, organisations involved had an ‘exchange visit’ to share learnings about their experiences so far.

Wandsworth Food Partnership hosted the visit, which showcased projects including:

We’re now developing our next Food Roots Incubator programme. It will support a larger group of new partnerships, while maintaining support for existing participants.

Helping you find good, reliable advice

Our Advice in Community Settings programme funds advice partnerships to help their local communities.

We’ve given funding to 11 partnerships to support Londoners experiencing, or at risk of, financial hardship.

Eight of these have now started delivering advice. The remaining three are in the designing phase of their projects.

Online employment rights help

Our Employment Rights Hub has been online since October 2019.

We’re expanding it following the impact of the pandemic on jobs in the capital and the end of the furlough scheme.

The hub:

offers information about your employment rights
tells you how to access trusted third-party advice and guidance to help you deal with employment issues.

We’re also working with BPP University and Trust for London’s Employment Legal Advice Network on a series of webinars about employment rights. So far, we’ve hosted sessions on employment status and discrimination at work.

Our next webinar, Jobs at risk: your rights if you’re being made redundant, is on Tuesday 14 December. Sign up for the webinar.

Keep an eye out for our emails with updates from this mission.

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September 2021

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, an unacceptable number of Londoners were already struggling to make ends meet. This crisis has not only made life tougher for those people, but it’s also pulled hundreds of thousands more into financial hardship.

The harsh reality is that this pandemic has deepened existing inequalities. Our work on recovery is about tackling those longstanding inequalities. We know that by taking action, we can protect those who are struggling to keep their heads above water.

As part of London’s recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic, we’re working to ensure that by 2025, every Londoner can access the support they need to prevent or escape financial hardship. You can read more about our plan to do this here.

Below you’ll find examples of the work we’ve been doing since our last update.

Helping everyone access healthy, tasty meals
We’ve now funded community partnerships that help more Londoners access food – whilst addressing the underlying drivers of food insecurity – via our Food Roots Incubator Programme.

Helping you find good, reliable advice online and nearby
For too long, Londoners have struggled to access the advice they need in order to get financial support. That’s why we’re working with funders and advice organisations across the capital to simplify the process so Londoners can get the help they need.

Additionally, we’ve now funded 11 partnerships through our Advice in Community Settings Grant Programme. The partnerships have been funded to support Londoners in their local communities experiencing, or at risk of, financial hardship. To find out more about each partnership, visit our programme information page.

Losing a job has been a devastating reality for many Londoners during this pandemic and with the end of the government’s furlough scheme in September 2021, more Londoners will face financial hardship in the coming months. If you’re worried about job security, visit our Employments Right Hub to find out more about your rights at work.

What’s next?
With the help of many others, we’re continuing to work on more initiatives to support Londoners to recover from this crisis. From researchers to local council leaders, volunteers to businesses, we’re listening to as many people as we can to help us shape a better future for London.

Check back in with us soon for more information on our upcoming work.

August 2020 - March 2021

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, an unacceptable number of Londoners were already struggling to make ends meet. This crisis has not only made life tougher for those people, but it’s also pulled hundreds of thousands more into financial hardship.

The harsh reality is that this pandemic has deepened existing inequalities. Our work on recovery is about tackling those longstanding inequalities. We know that by taking action, we can protect those who are struggling to keep their heads above water.

As part of London’s recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic, we’re working to ensure that by 2025, every Londoner can access the support they need to prevent or escape financial hardship. You can read more about our plan to do this here.

And we’ve already started this work...

Since August 2020, we’ve been working hard to ensure Londoners can access support as soon as possible. Below you’ll find just some examples of what we’re currently doing to help our city’s communities.

Helping everyone access healthy, tasty meals
Tackling food insecurity is a huge priority for us and, with thanks to the likes of Marcus Rashford, many more people are listening about the devastating reality of families struggling to put food on the table. Our work to support families in need includes funding for Kitchen Social - the largest provider of food for children in London during the school holidays.

We’re also funding community partnerships that help more Londoners access food – whilst addressing the underlying drivers of food insecurity – via our Food Roots Incubator Programme.

Helping you get the most out of your money
We want to remind eligible older Londoners to register for their Pension Credit to ensure they’re not missing out on entitlements like a free TV license. Soon you’ll find our posters at local Covid-19 vaccination centres, but you can also check right now to see if you’re eligible.

Helping you find good, reliable advice online and nearby
With so many more Londoners experiencing money worries as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, demand for support and advice is at an all-time high. That’s why we’re funding Debt-Free London’s debt advice service to continue to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week to reach more Londoners in need of support right now. If you, or anyone you know, needs support and advice for all types of money worries please visit debtfree.london or call 0800 808 5700 to speak to a trained debt advisor today.