Chapter 8: A healthy standard of living for all

Achieving a healthy standard of living for all is a key element of Gateshead's Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The financial impact of the pandemic has affected many. Feedback from organisations, and services, points to increased levels of hardship amongst our most vulnerable communities, particularly among those in workless households, those where one or more adults have additional needs and/ or those with children, who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, and who rely on more bespoke forms of support at school or in the community.

There is evidence to suggest working adults, on the lowest incomes, were most likely to see a fall in household income in the year April 2020 to March 2021. Locally, in Gateshead, the median income for the financial year to March 2020 was almost £3000 lower than the median income for England as a whole (ONS, 2021). (NOMIS Official Labour Market Statistics, 2021 (opens new window)) 

Many residents working in low-paid, unstable sectors of employment experienced redundancy situations early in the pandemic and have required support with food, meeting utility costs and replacement of basic furniture items, through charitable grants and the use of the (Gateshead Council) Personalisation Fund. Support from colleagues working with the community hubs has formed a vital part of the service response. Many families have accrued rent arrears and additional debts, increasing vulnerabilities to illegal money lending. The end of the eviction restrictions and furlough scheme, followed by the removal of the £20 Universal Credit uplift, are expected to have increased the experience of hardship.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (4 Earwaker R, Bestwick M, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2021) Briefing: Dragged down by debt: Millions of low-income households pulled under by arrears while living costs rise) found that the pandemic has had dramatically different effects on the position of household balance sheets. While many better-off households built up savings and saw their assets increase in value, low-income households have been more likely to see incomes fall, to run down what little savings they had and fall behind with their bills. Even before the £20 uplift in Universal Credit was removed in October 2021, analysis indicated that 3.8 million low-income households across the UK were in arrears, and 4.4 million have had to take on new or increased borrowing through the pandemic. Many of these households were not in arrears before the pandemic and have faced income loss and increases in their expenses. 

People seeking our help with the initial claim process of Universal Credit (UC), or with claiming Jobseeker's Allowance, rose significantly during the pandemic. There was an initial spike in enquires in March 2020 but the bulk of clients we advised sought our help in late summer/early autumn. At the peak, in September 2020, the number of clients seeking our advice with the initial UC claim was more than double the usual at 598, and the number with Jobseeker's Allowance enquiries was 4 times more than usual in August.
 

Each year we see a seasonal spike in energy advice issues, as the cold weather sets in and people struggle with fuel poverty. The pandemic made this situation much worse. December 2020 alone had almost as many energy issues as October 2019 to January 2020 combined. 
Judith Wood-Archer, Service Delivery Director, Citizen's Advice Gateshead 

Eviction restrictions have been in place for periods during the pandemic. Enforcement agent action to recover debt has also been suspended at times. 

Now that we are back in a place where debt collection and evictions are going to happen, the impact is really going to become visible over the next 6 to 12 months. 
Alison Dunn, Service Director - Voluntary and Community Sector Development, Gateshead Council

There have been many concerns about access to food during the pandemic, particularly during lockdowns for children who receive free school meals and for families during school holidays. 

We worried about feeding our children - a basic right of life for us all. We knew that if the children were in school that they were getting two decent meals a day (we fortunately have a free breakfast club and, in addition to this, throughout the pandemic, the amazing kitchen staff cooked healthy hot meals for our children). I was anxious to bring as many children back into school as soon as I could, whilst trying to keep this as safe as possible.  
Paul Harris, Headteacher, Gateshead Council 

Poverty impacted on people's experience of the pandemic. If people are at home eating food all day and you haven't got the money, it adds to the stress. If your kids are at home frustrated at not being able to go out, and you can afford to, you can pay to download a film or subscribe to Disney Plus. Our perceptions are so different based on our income and where we live. If you are sitting in the house, so bored from watching TV all day, it affects your sense of purpose and mental health. Similarly, if you have a car (and levels of car ownership are very low in our communities) you can just go for a drive to get out. 
Sarah Gorman, Chief Executive Officer, Edberts House

Cook 'n' eat boxes were designed to do two things. Firstly, to feed families at a time that was incredibly difficult and secondly give families the opportunity to come together and cook. So, for a number of weeks, families signed up to get a box. They were given all the ingredients including fresh fruit and vegetable, together with a recipe card. 
Alison Dunn, Service Director - Voluntary and Community Sector Development, Gateshead Council 

Next - Chapter 9: Create and develop healthy and sustainable places and communities