Review questions 1 and 2: Which services are most important for poverty alleviation and what are the barriers to access?

Cliciwch yma am y Gymraeg

Our first two questions sought to explore national evidence about the most important services for poverty alleviation, and the barriers to accessing these services, in order to help narrow the focus of the Working Group’s efforts and make them as impactful as possible. We conducted a scoping review using UK-level academic evidence to answer these review questions.

For this work, we used a broad definition of poverty that goes beyond low income and financial pressures to include social exclusion. This is in line with the Welsh Government definition that child poverty is:

“a long-term state of not having sufficient resources to afford food, reasonable living conditions or amenities or to participate in activities (such as access to attractive neighbourhoods and open spaces) which are taken for granted by others in their society.” (Welsh Government, 2024a)

Therefore, a range of policies and services are required to address the multidimensional drivers of poverty. Bucelli and McKnight (2022) describe twelve key policy areas as important for reducing poverty and social exclusion:

Several of these policy areas are interconnected (for example household debt; fuel poverty; food insecurity; transport disadvantage; affordable housing supply) and may require broader upstream strategies to address the drivers of poverty, such as low income. Services aiming to alleviate poverty may therefore need to promote coordination with other services or provide diversified support across several policy areas. Successfully alleviating poverty within these different policy areas is dependent on local implementation; co-designing policies and services with citizens has been found to enhance success in identifying and meeting people’s needs.

Services to alleviate poverty

Our review of literature on services most important to alleviating poverty found that they are largely aligned with the list of key policy areas mentioned above. Below, we describe how different service areas can help to alleviate poverty, as well the key barriers to accessing these services.

Free School Meals

Providing free school meals is an effective strategy to address food insecurity among families. In 2022, 20% of adults in Wales experienced food insecurity (Trussell, 2023). Free school meals have been credited with improving nutrition, enhancing school engagement and reducing financial pressures. Despite these benefits, stigma remains a barrier to uptake. Some families feel uncomfortable accessing free school meals opting for food banks instead (Morgan, Coles-Riley and Hill-Dixon, 2024). The introduction of universal free school meals for primary school pupils in Wales aims to address this, however evidence on whether universal provision reduces stigma is mixed (Price, Richardson and Tilley, 2024).

Food Banks

Food banks play an important role in addressing food insecurity, although access remains a challenge for many individuals. In 2022/23, 3% of all UK adults used a food bank (Francis-Devine, 2024). While food banks provide essential support, several barriers limit their accessibility. Stigma and perceived shame can prevent individuals from seeking help. Physical access is also a barrier, particularly in areas where transport options are limited and food bank locations may be sparse.

Cost of the School Day

The cost of participating in school life can contribute to feelings of isolation and reduce engagement for children from low-income families. Children whose families struggle to afford school related expenses such as uniforms, trips and extracurricular activities can feel isolated and participate less in education. While some children may conceal their financial situation to avoid stigma, these additional costs can single them out. An example of this is the quality of a child’s school uniform which can be a visible indicator of household income (Morgan, Coles-Riley and Hill-Dixon, 2024). Policies that limit the amount of available uniform suppliers can increase costs, worsening the issue for low-income families. In addition, initiatives in schools aimed at supporting disadvantaged pupils can also unintentionally stigmatise.

Youth Services

Youth services support early intervention and reduce the risk of social exclusion among young people. Youth services can help address the impacts of poverty and promote positive development. Their effectiveness often depends on how they are delivered. When well designed and accessible, youth services provide safe spaces, guidance and opportunities for personal growth. However, several barriers can limit access. These include the physical location of services, a lack of outreach and closure of local provision.

Fuel Poverty

Fuel poverty is closely linked to child poverty and can have significant impacts on children’s wellbeing and development. In 2020, one in five UK households with dependent children experienced fuel poverty (Lee et al., 2022). Living in cold conditions has been linked to poor health outcomes and lower educational attainment. Schemes aimed at alleviating fuel poverty often suffer from a lack of public awareness and restrictive eligibility criteria preventing families from accessing support.

Social Security and Household Debt

Social security provides support for vulnerable members of society and families facing financial hardship. However, access remains uneven. Barriers such as digital exclusion, limited awareness of available support and difficulty navigating the benefits system can prevent access to social security. Research has also highlighted that process of claiming welfare benefits can be demeaning and degrading due to how they are delivered, contributed to by practices such as the imposition of sanctions (Morgan, Coles-Riley and Hill-Dixon, 2024). Support from Citizens Advice and voluntary sector organisations can help individuals manage financial instability and debt. However, digital exclusion continues to limit access to these services.

Early Childhood Services

Early childhood services contribute to reducing the impacts of poverty on children and families (Nevin and Jacques, 2024). These services can be the only form of professional support before school age and can play an important role in early intervention and development. However, access may be limited by interpersonal and structural barriers such as a lack of trust, limited outreach and service closures.

Health Services

Poverty is strongly associated with poorer health outcomes and reduced access to healthcare. Individuals living in poverty are more likely to experience poor pregnancy outcomes and adverse health (NIHR School for Public Health Research, 2023). Healthcare is often more difficult to access for those living in poverty. Stigma and fear of social services involvement can also deter some individuals from seeking help. In addition, long waiting times, particularly for mental health support, may worsen the challenges faced.

Public Transport and Localised Support Services

Affordable and accessible services reduce inequality and improve access to opportunities. These services connect individuals to employment, education and essential support (Gates et al., 2019). Limited transport options in some areas, and the replacement of physical support with digital service delivery can create barriers, particularly for those also experiencing digital exclusion.

Outdoor Spaces

Safe and accessible outdoor spaces contribute to improved physical and mental health, promoting social inclusion. However, issues such as, vandalism, poor maintenance and anti-social behaviour can reduce the usability of outdoor spaces, particularly in disadvantaged areas.

Council responsibility for services

Table 2 summarises Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council’s role and responsibility for the services described above, and the key barriers affecting access to those services. Services are categorised in three groups:

• Core responsibility, where the Council has the most agency and direct responsibility;
• Administrative responsibility, where it plays a role in shaping local implementation of national policy or funding; and
• Partnership responsibility, where its involvement is limited.

Further information about the Council’s role in designing, delivering, or commissioning these services can be found in Annex 1.

It is important to note that the barriers highlighted reflect the evidence we found in national-level literature and may not reflect direct experience of services in RCT. However, there is a clear link between the role and responsibility of the Council and the type and focus of services and interventions. This distinction is especially apparent when reviewing the different types of barriers associated with these services. There were two main groups of services and interventions:

• Child-centred interventions: Services that prioritise the needs and interests of children and which may act as ‘pathways out of poverty’ (Bristow et al., 2022). This includes increasing participation in education, early childhood services, youth services, leisure and play, and outdoor spaces. These services are typically core Council responsibility and are predominantly associated with structural barriers, or barriers relating to physical accessibility.
• Practical and financial support. Services focused on providing support to families and ensuring that they are receiving the support they are entitled to. This may include free school meals, social security, debt and housing advice, grants related to the cost of the school day and fuel poverty, as well as social tariffs and the collection of council tax arrears. The Council typically has administrative or partnership responsibility for these services, which mainly have barriers relating to stigma, eligibility criteria, digital exclusion and awareness of provision.

Table 2: Council Responsibility and Key Barriers to Accessing Services

Key Points

• 12 key policy areas were identified as key for reducing poverty and social exclusion in the UK; 10 services were identified that link to these policy areas
• A review of these services in RCT found that the Council has a mix of core, administrative and partnership responsibilities for service delivery
• Barriers associated with accessing these services varied depending on the Council’s role and responsibility:
  • Barriers to services where Council have core responsibility are predominantly structural or related to physical accessibility.
  • Barriers to services where the council has administrative and partnership responsibilities mainly relate to stigma, eligibility criteria, digital exclusion and awareness of provision.
• The role and responsibility of the Council was also linked to the type and focus of the intervention, with child-centred interventions more likely to be core Council responsibility and practical and financial support services were more likely to be administered in partnership
  

Read the next section: Review question 3: What works to increase access/uptake for people in poverty?