Hardship Fund Programme Rural Needs Assessment
Hardship Fund Programme Rural Needs 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.
Hardship Fund Programme
1C. Please indicate which category the activity specified in Section 1B above relates to.
Delivering a Public Service
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.
DfC Hardship Fund Programme
1E. Please provide details of the aims and/or objectives of the Policy, Strategy, Plan or Public Service.
The Department for Communities is providing funding to Councils for a Hardship Scheme to alleviate financial hardship for the most vulnerable. Council has worked with the Anti-Poverty Stakeholder Steering Group to develop a collaborative and co-ordinated approach to provide direct support to those most vulnerable in experiencing financial difficulty.
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.
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.
Key Rural Issues, Northern Ireland 2023 https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/daera/Key%20Rural%20Issues%202023.pdf
The Hardship Fund will seek to have an impact in providing direct support to people experiencing financial difficulty across the whole Borough including rural areas.
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 Hardship Fund will seek to have an impact in alleviating financial hardship 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 and Deprivation in Rural Areas
If the response to Section 2A was YES GO TO Section 3A.
N/A
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
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
- 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
- Key Rural Issues, Northern Ireland 2023 https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/daera/Key%20Rural%20Issues%202023.pdf
- "Children in low income families: local area statistics" (DWP/HMRC March 2022). https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics
- “Northern Ireland Poverty and Income Inequality Report 2021-22” (Department for Communities 30 March 2023) https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/news/northern-ireland-poverty-and-income-inequality-report-2021-22-released
- A House of Commons Library Research Briefing, “Rising cost of living in the UK”(published 2nd June 2023) https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9428/#:~:text=Increases%20in%20the%20costs%20of,%2C%20a%2045%2Dyear%20high
- “Poverty in Northern Ireland 2022” https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/poverty-northern-ireland-2022
- June 2022 National Energy Action/ LucidTalk Northern Ireland-wide representative poll to evaluate the impacts of rising energy prices on households. https://www.nea.org.uk/fuel-poverty-map/fuel-poverty-in-ni/
- Child Poverty Action Group (October 2022) https://cpag.org.uk/sites/default/files/CPAG-Poverty-173-rising-fuel-poverty.pdf
- University of York’s Social Policy Unit forecast https://www.york.ac.uk/media/business-society/research/CPAG-Poverty-173-rising-fuel-poverty.pdf
- Age UK (May 2022) https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/reports-and-publications/reports-and-briefings/safe-at-home/estimating-the-impact-of-rising-prices-on-older-households-in-the-uk-in-2022-23-may-2022.pdf
- A series of focus group discussions took place with Community Development Initiative (LCDI), Community Advice Causeway, Vineyard Compassion (Causeway Foodbank & Reset Social Supermarket), Ballycastle, Ballymoney & Roe Valley Foodbanks, St Vincent DePaul, Salvation Army, Northern Health & Social Care Trust, Western Health & Social Care Trust, PHA.
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?
N/A
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.
The development of the Hardship Fund proposals 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 Hardship Fund proposals.
Consideration has been given to how best to deliver services that are accessible to rural communities both in terms of location and method of delivery.
The Fuel Support element will be delivered by St Vincent DePaul which has a network of 12 local branches/ conferences and Salvation Army which likewise has a wide rural reach. In addition, foodbanks will stock fuel vouchers so that people that present at the foodbanks won’t have to travel to another organisation for fuel support.
A Food Hardship Grant is being opened to allow locally based community and voluntary organisations to deliver services locally including in rural areas, 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 promote the foodbank service and to also facilitate home deliveries where needed.
Additional monies are being provided to the 2 social supermarkets to allow them to extend their reach and deal with their waiting lists and overcome any barriers to participation.
Advice provision to be delivered via telephone and email with the opportunity for face-to-face pre-arranged appointments.
The Save the Children Family Support Programme can be accessed online and will be delivered through the local Community Advice Centre which again will avoid families having to travel to access support.
The Where to Turn campaign will be promoted again in order to ensure that people in all areas of the borough are aware of the range of services that were available. Leaflets with local phone numbers will be printed and delivered to all GP surgeries, libraries and community centres.
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 Fuel Support element will be delivered by St Vincent DePaul which has a network of 12 local branches/ conferences in rural and urban areas and Salvation Army which likewise has a wide rural reach. In addition foodbanks will stock fuel vouchers so that people that present at the foodbanks won’t have to travel to another organisation for fuel support.
- A Food Hardship Grant is being opened to allow locally based community and voluntary organisations to deliver services locally including in rural areas, 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 promote the foodbank service and to also facilitate home deliveries where needed.
- Additional monies are being provided to the 2 social supermarkets to allow them to extend their reach and deal with their waiting lists and overcome any barriers to participation.
- Advice provision to be delivered via telephone and email with the opportunity for face to face pre-arranged appointments.
- The Save the Children Family Support Programme can be accessed online and will be delivered through the local Community Advice Centre which again will avoid families having to travel to access support.
- The Where to Turn campaign will be promoted again in order to ensure that people in all areas of the borough are aware of the range of services that were available. Leaflets with local phone numbers will be printed and delivered to all GP surgeries, libraries and community centres.
https://www.causewaycoastandglens.gov.uk/live/advice-services
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
Division/Branch Leisure & Development/ Community & Culture
Date: 05.06.23
Rural Needs Impact Assessment approved by: Head of Service
Division/Branch Community & Culture
Date: 05.06.23