Anti-poverty alliance launching with aim to tackle cost of living crisis

An alliance of organisations and individuals getting together in a united bid to tackle hardship and put an end to poverty is launching in Lynn.The Norfolk Anti-Poverty Alliance is holding a meeting in the town hall with local speakers sharing information on Friday from 4pm to 6.30pm.The Alliance, which met earlier this year, is a movement of charities, faith groups, social enterprises, community organisations and individuals with lived experience of hardship, who want to see an end to poverty in Norfolk and across the country.

The Lynn event will be a chance to hear more about what is going wrong in the county and what needs to be done – both nationally and locally – to end the hardship people are experiencing.The agenda will start with networking and the opportunity to speak to stallholders representing charities, social enterprises and service providers, followed by a panel discussion on the topic ‘What is Norfolk’s next big step on poverty?’Speakers will be Julie Chaplin, strategic lead at Lynn’s Hanseatic Union, Reverend Jon Price from North Lynn’s Beacon Church, and Mark Whitmore from West Norfolk Council – with other speakers potentially to be arranged.

Chairing the meeting will be David Powles, chief executive of Norfolk Community Law Service, a charity providing free legal advice which last month, announced it was expanding its service to people in Lynn and West Norfolk in response to demand due to the cost of living crisis. At the time, Mr Powles said: “We’re relieved we can expand our services to focus more on King’s Lynn because demand for our services continues to grow as more people struggle with the cost-of-living crisis. Fewer people can afford to pay for legal advice and the availability of state support has also decreased over the past decade.“We know we can help people because of our track record in getting results. Our debt team helped write off £1.4million of debt in 2024/25 and our welfare benefits team recouped £2.4million in benefits for people who had been originally denied and then won on appeal. “People are now coming to us with multiple issues and in worsening situations. The average level of personal debt that we’re helping people to manage has risen from £4,000 four years ago to over £20,000 now. And 61% of our clients are women – for a multitude of reasons, they are often more financially vulnerable and less able to pay for legal support when they need it.”Friday’s alliance meeting will end with a 30-minute networking session. Tickets to attend are free and available on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-is-norfolks-next-big-step-on-poverty-tickets-1319881604409?Any individuals or organisations which provide services locally that support people in hardship who would like a stall at the event to highlight their work can get in touch via an online form which can be found on the Norfolk Anti-Poverty Alliance website: https://ncan.co.uk/norfolk-anti-poverty-alliance/ The alliance cites its core aims as:• To campaign for benefit payments to be set at a live-able level, based on an independent review of the cost of essential items• To engage with local partners, to understand their targets and plans around tackling hardship• To ensure the voices of people with lived experience are heard nationally and locally Its vision is a “future where all residents of Norfolk have the dignity and security of having what we need to stay warm, dry, clean and fed”.The website says that in some areas of Norfolk almost 10% of people have negative budgets – where money coming in does not meet the cost of essential spending, according to Citizens Advice data.The website adds that Norfolk Community Advice Network partners saw a 15% increase in requests for debt advice in 2023-24 compared to the year before, and Norfolk Community Law Service saw a 70% rise in the number of people needing help to access welfare benefits in 2023/24 compared to a year before – and has seen a 71% rise in overall clients in just four years.The Anti-Poverty Alliance was kick-started by Trussell, following a meeting in autumn 2023 on hunger in Norfolk. Norfolk Community Advice Network (NCAN) is coordinating the alliance.