Agenda item

Guest Speakers:

·       Helping Hand – Gill Harding

·       Burnham Care & Share – Lisa Pope

·       Bucks & Surrey Trading Standards – Pei Harper

·       Community Impact Bucks – Lew Headley

Gill Harding, Head of Community Support, was in attendance to inform the Community Board about the Helping Hand Team. The presentation slides referred to in this meeting would be appended to these minutes, with some key points below:

• The team received £2.4 million from the Government’s Household Support Fund for April to September 2022.
• A further Household Support Fund grant of £2.4 million was received for October 2022 to April 2023 to support vulnerable households.
• The Helping Hand team continued to support individuals and families in need of financial support. It was noted that they can assist with referrals to food banks and other food support organisations. You can get in touch via the Buckinghamshire Council website or by telephone: 01296531151.
• The level of demand has increased, with on average 50 new Helping Hand applications every working day. It was expected that the number of first-time applications would rise.
• G Harding informed attendees of a range of schemes including Food Support, financial insecurity, cost of living and Opportunity Bucks.

Lisa Pope, Burnham Care and Share, informed attendees of the initiative based in Burnham Park Hall. 2021 was its first full year of operation, issuing 1000 vouchers and supporting 2562 individuals. At point of this meeting, Burnham Care and Share had issued 827 vouchers supporting 2308 individuals. The following was noted:

• The food bank was now operating self-sufficiently, with the help of grants and local donations.
• L Pope had observed an increase in people asking for support with electricity and gas. It was hoped that potential grant funding would help fill this demand. Moreover, St Peter’s Church had provided every client with at least 1 energy voucher over the December period.
• A greater number of asylum seekers looking for support were recorded; however it was noted the food bank is only able to assist them as an emergency and not as an ongoing basis.
• Burnham Care and Share had assisted a number of clients to be rehomed.
• They had recently signed up to the Buckinghamshire Council Food Champions Scheme, which encouraged residents to organise long-life food collections for their street. So far, 6 streets had registered.
• Maidenhead Food Share were supporting the Burnham Care and Share.

Pei Harper, Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards, was present to speak about safeguarding against scams, particularly cost of living scams. The key points were highlighted below:

• Attendees were informed that once an individual has been scammed, they were twice as likely to be scammed within 12 months. Intervention during this period was a key focus for Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards.
• Types of scams included postal, doorstep rogue traders, online, and text message scams.
• It was noted that Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards were able to provide free call blocking devices to avoid scam calls, doorbell cameras, and “no cold calling” sticker packs.
• Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards were the lead authority in prosecuting illegal money lending and loan sharks.
• P Harper asked attendees to think of any community groups they would like Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards to liaise with to raise awareness of scams.
• Trading Standards Alert Newsletter was available here.

Lew Headley, Community Impact Bucks (CIB), was in attendance to raise awareness of CIB and its role to support charities, organisations and small groups.The presentation slides referred to in this meeting would be appended to these minutes, with some key points below:

• CIB provided online resources to help start up an organisation, secure funding and find volunteers. In particular, the Buckinghamshire Volunteer Matching Service was noted as a valuable tool.
• CIB offered one-to-one support to organisations with a yearly income of less than £100,000.
• The Cost of Living Survey undertaken in August 2022 received 83 responses from organisations. 83% were concerned with the spiralling costs.
• L Headley highlighted the Charity Excellence Framework, who had developed crisis fund resources for charities.
• Organisations could sign up for free information on a weekly basis with CIB.

Helen Cavill, Buckinghamshire Council, was present to raise awareness and promote the Streets Association Scheme. Attendees were informed that it was a resident-led initiative, with members becoming the contact in the street. Members received informational signposting packs to help support vulnerable residents.

During discussion the following points were highlighted:

• H Cavill stated that 50 residents had signed up to the Streets Association Scheme in Burnham.
• H Cavill explained that Helping Hands Service could help beyond food support, to include utilities, winter warmth, and white goods. Members were encouraged to refer to Helping Hands if appropriate.
• Councillor T Hogg suggested sharing success stories to encourage people to raise awareness of these services.
• L Pope explained that they receive support from local supermarkets and were able to distribute excess food.