Using research to inform policy

Sarah Johnson, Senior Research Officer

Overview of presentation

• About Newham

• Newham’s Research Team/ resilience agenda

• Newham Household Panel Survey (NHPS)

• Facing Debt: Economic Resilience in Newham

• Evidence based policy

• Questions

Slide 2

About Newham

• Newham is situated in the east end of London and is home to the Olympic Stadium

• GLA estimates put Newham’s population at about 338,600 in 2016

• It is the most ethnically diverse place in the UK with no single ethnic group having a majority

• It also has a young population with 63% of the population 35 or under, compared to 45% for the UK overall

Slide 3

Newham: challenges and opportunities

• Challenges: low employment levels and lower than average life expectancy. Newham is one of the most deprived places in the country, 41% of residents are in relative poverty

• Opportunities: growth of London eastwards, investment including the Olympics, Westfield and plans for the 3rd financial centre in London on the docks

• We are seeing change- Newham’s average IMD rank has moved from 2 to 8 in the past 5 years

Slide 4

Research at Newham

Research at Newham

• The research team at Newham is made up of five officers and is part of the wider policy, public affairs and research team.

• Most of the research we undertake is commissioned directly by the elected Mayor, Sir Robin Wales.

• But we do undertake some research commissioned by services and provide advice and guidance around undertaking research.

• The research team works in developing research projects, planning the project, commissioning research, monitoring the progress of the research and reporting/disseminating the findings.

Slide 6

Research conducted at Newham

• Corporate surveys: We undertake three corporate surveys annually/biannually (Newham Survey, NHPS and Tenants and Leaseholds).

• Evaluations: These usually focus on council services/key policies and can be an impact evaluation and/or a process evaluation. Some examples include Newham’s Reading Guarantee and Workplace.

• Policy research: When looking to develop a certain policy/area we may conduct policy research to explore the issue in more detail. Some examples include the facing debt research and NewShare research (shared equity scheme)

• Consultations: The research team provides guidance and signs off all consultations at Newham. We are get involved in planning, commissioning and running of larger/complex consultation e.g. Budget Consultation.

Slide 7

Research website

• A lot of the research we conduct is just used internally within the Council

• We do published some research externally• More details of previous research we have conducted and

that is published can be found on Newham Council’s website:

https://www.newham.gov.uk/Pages/Services/Our-research.aspx

Slide 8

Newham’s policy vision: the resilience agenda• Newham Council has developed a resilience agenda

in response to the challenges Newham faces

• This sets out our vision to help build personal, community and economic resilience in Newham

• Building resilience in Newham will enable residents to

overcome the complex social challenges they face, in order to secure long-term change

• All work undertaken at the council is linked to our vision of resilience and trying to build resilience for our residents

Slide 9

Newham Household Panel Survey (NHPS)

Understanding resilience through research

Slide 11

• Newham’s corporate research programme measures our three key areas of resilience- personal, economic and community

• The Newham Household Panel Survey (NHPS) is Newham’s flagship survey, and gives the most detailed insight into the lives of residents

• Each wave NHPS measures various aspects of economic resilience including employment, income, expenditure and financial management

Slide 12

About NHPS

• NHPS has been running since 2002. The 8th wave report is due to be published soon

• NHPS is a representative panel survey, meaning we try to follow up the same people every two years

• The London Borough of Newham is the only local authority in the UK to undertake a longitudinal panel survey

• It is modelled on the national study, Understanding Society, though NHPS is carried out every two years

• Attrition is a key challenge of the methodology

Economic resilience in wave 6 (2011)

• The median gross income of working residents in Newham was £280 per week

• Most residents saved monthly (73 per cent), but the majority of residents (56 per cent) saved less than £50 a month

• One in four residents (23 per cent) found it hard to manage their finances

• One in five (20 per cent) were in arrears on at least one bill, and 7 per cent were behind with two or more

Slide 13

Facing Debt: Economic Resilience in Newham

Introduction to Facing Debt

• Commissioned by LBN to explore financial skills, the use of credit, the dynamics of debt and the impact of welfare reform in Newham

• Research was undertaken by Professor Anne Power and a team of researchers at the London School of Economics

Slide 15

Facing Debt mixed methodology

• Longitudinal qualitative study with two waves between March 2013 and January 2014

• 62 in-depth interviews (38 were interviewed in both waves) analysed using narrative methodology

• Focus on two groups- 1) working households with incomes up to £30,000 who were in debt, 2) households receiving benefits who were impacted by welfare reform changes

• Additional questions added to NHPS wave 7

Slide 16

Findings from Facing Debt

• Triggers of debt included insecure housing, insecure employment, benefit delays and unexpected bills

• Almost nobody had savings or cash reserves and most debts were accrued through essential living costs

• Attitudes towards debt varied- a commitment to stay out of debt by some meant sacrificing on heating or even food

• Findings from NHPS wave 7 confirmed the association between poverty and priority debts in the wider population

Slide 17

Evidence based policy

MoneyWorks

• Aims: to promote economic resilience by strengthening debt prevention and financial management in the borough

• Better deals for residents on: loans (including a payday loan alternative) and other products and deals along with support and guidance to help manage the cost of living. (We a looking to set up a white goods shop as alternative to BrightHouse)

• Delivery: via the web and face to face by Newham and the London Community Credit Union (LCCU)

Slide 19

NHPS- wave 7 findings

• A key finding from wave 7 of NHPS was that nearly a fifth (18%) of Newham residents aged over 21 work for less than the National Minimum Wage (NMW)

• Residents who are more likely to be paid less than the NMW are those who work for small employers, have lived in Newham less than 2 years and are from a Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin

• Further analysis has been undertaken to explore the financial impact of this underpayment. This estimated the overall cost of underpayment of NMW to employed residents in Newham was in region of £38.2 million

Slide 20

National Minimum Wage

• The findings from NHPS on underpayment of the NMW are being used by Newham Council to lobby Central Government

• We are asking for greater power for local authorities to enforce the NMW or soon to be the National Living Wage (NLW)

• The Council has joined forces with GMB to lobby for greater powers. In March 2015 we launched our campaign called ‘Pay by the rules’

Slide 21

Questions

Contact me:

Sarah Johnson: Sarah.Johnson@newham.gov.uk

https://www.newham.gov.uk/Pages/Services/Our-research.aspx

Slide 23

Find our research here: