Inflation remains stubbornly high in the UK, with the most significant upward contributing factor being the rising cost of food. This coupled with rising energy and fuel costs, and more recently the rise in interest rates and the knock-on impact this has had on housing costs is pushing households across the country to the brink. 

This session aims to bring together innovators from the local government sector to explore the role of local authorities in mitigating the impacts of the current rise in the cost of living, what approaches can be adopted to support residents through this period and what we can do to ensure they don’t fall into crisis in the future. We will explore what solutions have worked for residents over the past 18 months, and what didn’t and we will look at what future challenges the cost of living may hold for your residents as we approach the Winter months.

Representatives from St Helens Council will lead the session. They will share lessons from their borough including how they targeted support to those most in need, how they moved quickly to respond and provide solutions to the ever-changing crises facing residents, and how they worked with local partners and the voluntary sector to deliver this support.

In this interactive session, we are keen to learn from other areas and discuss our priority actions going into the winter months.

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Before the session, have a read of the St Helens Borough Council's Case Study St Helens Together: Supporting the Borough through the Cost of Living Crisis.