Anti-Poverty Action Plan - Rural Needs Impact Assessment

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Anti-Poverty Action Plan - Rural Needs Impact Assessment

 

SECTION 1 -
Defining the activity subject to Section 1(1) of the Rural Needs Act (NI) 2016

 

1A. Name of Public Authority.

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council

 

1B. Please provide a short title which describes the activity being undertaken by the Public Authority that is subject to Section 1(1) of the Rural Needs Act (NI) 2016.

Anti-Poverty Action Plan

 

1C. Please indicate which category the activity specified in Section 1B above relates to.

Developing a Plan    

  

1D. Please provide the official title (if any) of the Policy, Strategy, Plan or Public Service document or initiative relating to the category indicated in Section 1C above.

Anti-Poverty Action Plan

 

1E. Please provide details of the aims and/or objectives of the Policy, Strategy, Plan or Public Service.

Objective 1:  Increase the coordination between organisations working to support those most in need in Causeway Coast and Glens 
Objective 2:  Support those on low incomes or those in financial crises in Causeway Coast and Glens to maximize their income and minimise their costs
Objective 3:  Improve the capacity of those that support those most in need
Objective 4:  Promote better information, signposting and communication
Objective 5: Work in partnership with others to tackle the causes of poverty

 

 

1F. What definition of ‘rural’ is the Public Authority using in respect of the Policy, Strategy, Plan or Public Service?

Population Settlements of less than 5,000 (Default definition).
 

 

Details of alternative definition of ‘rural’ used.   N/A

 

Rationale for using alternative definition of ‘rural’.   N/A

 

Reasons why a definition of ‘rural’ is not applicable.   N/A

 

 

SECTION 2 -
Understanding the impact of the Policy, Strategy, Plan or Public Service

 

2A. Is the Policy, Strategy, Plan or Public Service likely to impact on people in rural areas?

Yes          If the response is NO GO TO Section 2E.

 

2B. Please explain how the Policy, Strategy, Plan or Public Service is likely to impact on people in rural areas.

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council (CCGBC) established an Anti-Poverty Stakeholder Steering Group (APSSG), made up of those organisations whose core business is tackling poverty in the Borough, along with relevant statutory bodies and developed an Anti-Poverty Action Plan to ensure that a multi-disciplinary approach was taken to deliver specific Department for Communities (DfC)  Covid response initiatives and overall in addressing poverty in Causeway Coast and Glens.

Using the default position of population living in settlements of less than 5,000, a large proportion of the borough of Causeway Coast and Glens is classified as rural. (Towns with a population of 5,000 and over being Coleraine, Ballymoney, Limavady, Ballycastle, Portstewart, Portrush).

Rural households are just as likely as those in urban areas to fall below either relative or absolute poverty levels. However, overall figures for rural areas disguise intra-rural differences in the experience of poverty. 
DAERA Key Rural Issues 2020 https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/daera/Key%20Rural%20Issues%202020%20-%20Final.pdf

The Action Plan will seek to have an impact in addressing poverty across the whole Borough including rural area. 

 

2C. If the Policy, Strategy, Plan or Public Service is likely to impact on people in rural areas differently from people in urban areas, please explain how it is likely to impact on people in rural areas differently.


While poverty and social isolation exist in both urban areas and rural areas it is recognised that those living in rural areas often experience poverty and social isolation differently due to issues relating to geographical isolation, lower population density and the dispersed nature of many rural settlements. 

The Action Plan will seek to have an impact in addressing poverty across the whole Borough, in some cases a different approach may be taken for rural  areas in order to achieve impact.

 

2D. Please indicate which of the following rural policy areas the Policy, Strategy, Plan or Public Service is likely to primarily impact on.

Poverty in Rural Areas 
Deprivation in Rural Areas

 

If the response to Section 2A was YES GO TO Section 3A.

 

 

2E. Please explain why the Policy, Strategy, Plan or Public Service is NOT likely to impact on people in rural areas.

N/A

 

 

SECTION 3 -
Identifying the Social and Economic Needs of Persons in Rural Areas

 

3A. Has the Public Authority taken steps to identify the social and economic needs of people in rural areas that are relevant to the Policy, Strategy, Plan or Public Service?

 Yes          If the response is NO GO TO Section 3E.

 

 

3B. Please indicate which of the following methods or information sources were used by the Public Authority to identify the social and economic needs of people in rural areas.

Consultation with Rural Stakeholders
Published Statistics 
Consultation with Other Organisations
Surveys or Questionnaires

 

 

3C. Please provide details of the methods and information sources used to identify the social and economic needs of people in rural areas including relevant dates, names of organisations, titles of publications, website references, details of surveys or consultations undertaken etc.


Quantitative data was accessed from the following sources:

  • NI Census in 2011 
  • NISRA Poverty Grouped Years (administrative geographies) Individuals in Relative Poverty (LGD) 2017-19
  • NISRA Family Resources Survey: Northern Ireland 2019-20 https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/system/files/publications/communities/frs-201920.pdf
  • NISRA Houses Below Average Income: Northern Ireland 2019-20 https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/publications/households-below-average-income-northern-ireland-201920
  • Housing Executive Estimates of fuel poverty in Northern Ireland in 2019 - Modelled using data from the Northern Ireland House Condition Survey 2016
  • Joseph Rowntree Foundation – UK Poverty 2022 The Essential Guide to Understanding Poverty in the UK https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/uk-poverty-2022
  • Measuring Poverty 2020: A report of the Social Metrics Commission
  • Recommendations for an Anti-Poverty Strategy: Report of the Expert Advisory Panel (Dec 2020)
  • A minimum income standard for rural households Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2010   https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/minimum-income-standard-rural-households
  • DAERA Key Rural Issues 2020 https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/daera/Key%20Rural%20Issues%202020%20-%20Final.pdf

 

Qualitative information was gathered from:

  • a series of focus groups and of co-design meetings of key stakeholders took place to help inform the development of the Action Plan. These stakeholders included Limavady Community Development Initiative (LCDI) Advice Centre, Community Advice Causeway, Vineyard Compassion (Causeway Foodbank & Reset Social Supermarket), Ballycastle, Ballymoney & Roe Valley Foodbanks, Jobs and Benefits Offices, Causeway and Limavady Volunteer Centres, Community Networks – Northern Area Community Network (NACN) Causeway Rural & Urban Network (CRUN), Building Communities Resource Centre (BCRC), Northern Health & Social Care Trust, Western Health & Social Care Trust, PHA, Education Authority, DAERA
  • an online survey of organisations which support people experiencing poverty in Causeway Coast and Glens. 37 organisations responded to the survey, many of which were based in rural areas in the borough.
     

 

 

3D. Please provide details of the social and economic needs of people in rural areas which have been identified by the Public Authority?

  • The cost of living is higher in rural areas and rural households are twice as likely as urban households to be in fuel poverty - almost a third (32%) of rural households experience fuel poverty compared to 16% of those in urban areas. Source: Northern Ireland House Condition Survey 2016, Northern Ireland Housing Executive, 2018
  • Poor public transport links - private transport is a necessity in many rural areas in terms of access to employment and basic services – 92% of rural households had access to at least one car or van in 2018/19. As a result, vehicle ownership and running costs may consume a greater share of available household income.  Source: Continuous Household Survey, 2018/19, NISRA
  • Access to social housing is much more limited, and rates of owner-occupation are substantially higher in rural (80%) than urban areas (63%)  Source: Continuous Household Survey, 2018/19, NISRA
  • Rural pensioners are almost twice as likely to be in relative or absolute poverty as their urban counterparts.   Source: Households Below Average Income (HBAI), DfC, 2018/19
  • Poor broadband coverage in some areas; similarly mobile phone network coverage

If the response to Section 3A was YES GO TO Section 4A.

 

 

3E. Please explain why no steps were taken by the Public Authority to identify the social and economic needs of people in rural areas?

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SECTION 4 -
Considering the Social and Economic Needs of Persons in Rural Areas

 

4A. Please provide details of the issues considered in relation to the social and economic needs of people in rural areas.

Consideration was given to how best to deliver services that were accessible to rural dwellers. 
Grant programmes were included to allow locally based community and voluntary organisations to deliver services locally such as community fridges, grow your own schemes, luncheon clubs etc. 
Links to be developed between foodbanks in the main towns and local community organisations in rural villages to support the creation of ‘community larders’ in order to allow easier access to food for rural dwellers. 
Advice provision to be delivered via telephone and email with the opportunity for face to face pre-arranged appointments. 
A Wraparound support service to be delivered to ensure that residents were supported to access all the services that they needed to support them back to a position of financial stability eg debt advice, benefit checks, social supermarket etc.
A Where to Turn campaign was developed in order to ensure that people in all areas of the borough were aware of the range of services that were available. 
https://www.causewaycoastandglens.gov.uk/live/advice-services

 

 

 

 

SECTION 5 -
Influencing the Policy, Strategy, Plan or Public Service

 

5A. Has the development, adoption, implementation or revising of the Policy, Strategy or Plan, or the design or delivery of the Public Service, been influenced by the rural needs identified?

Yes       If the response is NO GO TO Section 5C.

 

5B. Please explain how the development, adoption, implementation or revising of the Policy, Strategy or Plan, or the design or delivery of the Public Service, has been influenced by the rural needs identified.


The development of the Action Plan has been influenced by the needs of communities across Causeway Coast and Glens whether they are defined by geography, identity or interest. Because of the significant rural nature of Causeway Coast and Glens the needs of rural communities are particularly to the fore. The needs that are more prevalent in rural areas such as access to services, poor transport links, fuel poverty, increased cost of delivering services all influenced the development of the Action Plan and the design of the actions in the Plan. 
Consideration was given to how best to deliver services that were accessible to rural communities both in terms of location and method of delivery eg advice helpline.
Consideration was also given as to how best to support the community and voluntary sector in rural areas to address local needs and to connect and collaborate with Council and Anti-Poverty Stakeholder Steering Group partners to do so.

If the response to Section 5A was YES GO TO Section 6A.

 

5C. Please explain why the development, adoption, implementation or revising of the Policy, Strategy or Plan, or the design or the delivery of the Public Service, has NOT been influenced by the rural needs identified.

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SECTION 6 -
Documenting and Recording

 

6A. Please tick below to confirm that the RNIA Template will be retained by the Public Authority and relevant information on the Section 1 activity compiled in accordance with paragraph 6.7 of the guidance.

 

I confirm that the RNIA Template will be retained and relevant information compiled.  

 

Rural Needs Impact Assessment undertaken by:

Community Development Manager - Leisure & Development/ Community & Culture

Date: Completed April 2021, updated 28 March 2022

 

Rural Needs Impact Assessment approved by:

Head of Community & Culture

Date: 29 March.2022