The Poverty Emergency
Poverty Truth Advisory Board
Building on the learning from two West Cheshire Poverty Truth Commissions, (WCPTC), it was agreed in early 2020 to mainstream this approach to inform and support all poverty work across the Council and partner agencies, developing a programme of work that retains the Poverty Truth ethos.
To support this work, the Council has now set up a Poverty Truth Advisory Board (PTAB) with public, private, civic sector and Community Inspirer representatives to advise and support services across the Council and partner agencies.
The Board meets every two months, and includes cross-party representation. It is co-chaired by a Community Inspirer alongside the Cheshire West and Chester Council Leader's Champion for Poverty and Inequality. The Board will enable all stakeholders to be involved in tackling the poverty emergency, influencing strategy, policy and making sure people with lived and living experience of poverty have a voice.
- Bringing the poverty agenda to the forefront and respond to any changes/challenges that the communities of West Cheshire face.
- Listening and learning from people with lived experience of poverty.
- Influence the Council and partner organisations to recognise people with lived experience as key stakeholders.
- Securing a robust framework to ensure that change in how decisions are made is permanent.
- Building a community to help inform work.
- Reducing stigmas and assumptions attached to the use of the word poverty.
- Gathering data to evidence the impact COVID-19 is having on those already in poverty, or likely to experience it as a result.
- Using knowledge and evidence to influence those in positions of power to review how we tackle poverty within Cheshire West and beyond.
- Advising and helping to develop policy on the use of appropriate funding to support the poverty agenda, now and in the future.
- Timely and pro-active involvement in Council policy reviews.
- Building knowledge of how decision making and influencing works within Local Government and beyond.
- Exploring and developing opportunities to network within the wider community and beyond West Cheshire to make change-making more accessible to people experiencing poverty or on low incomes.
Some of this work is a continuation or expansion of previous Poverty Truth Commission work and some relates directly to developing new work around the additional commitments made within the Poverty Emergency declaration:
- Embed Poverty Truth principles and approach across Council and partner agency services.
- Bring poverty agenda to the forefront.
- Supporting work to remove gaps and duplication between services.
