Brighter Futures Annual Report 2023-24

Where is the Brighter Futures area?

The term “Brighter Futures area” is used to cover three wards in Banbury, North Oxfordshire- Grimsbury, Neithrop and Ruscote.

Banbury Grimsbury and Hightown ward is in north-east Banbury and the area covers the Grimsbury housing estate, the industrial and retail area north of Hennef Way, the junction with the M40 motorway, Thorpe Way Industrial Estate and the railway station to the south.

Ruscote and Neithrop wards are located in north Banbury. Both are bordered to the north and west by the ward of Hardwick and south by the ward of Easington. Neithrop is adjacent to Grimsbury ward and Ruscote to the parish of Wroxton.

The Brighter Futures area covers the three wards in Banbury with the highest level of deprivation in the Cherwell District – in fact, they are in the 20% most deprived wards nationally. This can be surprising to people who think of North Oxfordshire as a leafy, wealthy area. 

The effects of deprivation and health inequality

The Local Government Association’s report into health inequalities reminds us why health inequalities and life chances are so connected:

“Health inequalities are highly correlated with general disadvantage, deprivation, poverty, and social and economic inequality. Babies born into a poor family can expect to live up to 10 years less than those born into a wealthy family.

Banbury Ruscote MSOA has one of the lowest life expectancies for males and females in Oxfordshire, each statistically below (worse than) the England average.

Looking at Banbury Grimsbury Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA) as an example, local health and wellbeing indicators show that the Banbury Grimsbury area has a relatively poor health profile. Half (16 out of 32) of local health and wellbeing indicators are ranked as worse than the England average, including:

• Life expectancy (lower than average for males and females)
• Emergency hospital admissions for all causes and deaths for all causes
• Premature deaths from all causes
• Preventable deaths.

How the Partnership works

The Brighter Futures partnership was formed to enable organisations from grass roots community groups through to statutory and strategic agencies to work together to increase opportunities, raise aspirations and improve health for the residents of this area.

The partnership holds quarterly steering group meetings, with contributions from the 5 theme areas of Community Safety, Education, Economy and Skills, Housing and Stronger Communities and Volunteering. Experts from these areas act as theme leads. Meeting together builds trust between organisations, and information is shared. This has led to better partnership working and some projects have been able to tap into the synergistic way of working which this fosters. Theme leads are also able to share information and intelligence which comes from the community itself.

In addition, the Partnership holds two annual meetings for a much wider group of partners. The meetings are designed to equip partners to work with the local community on issues which matter to them. Recent examples have included the Cost-of-living crisis and Young People. Relevant and inspiring speakers have been welcomed by the attendees, as has the chance to network with others working in the same geographical area.

Why the cost-of-living crisis is still relevant to Brighter Futures residents

The disproportionate effect of rising prices on low-income households

A legacy which remains from the Cost-of-living crisis is that residents on low incomes are affected more by inflation than those who have a larger household income. Rising prices have had a disproportionate effect on lower income households. The main drivers of consumer price inflation during the report period were energy, transport, and food. This impacts lower income households because they are less able to switch from non-essential spending, since their budgets have usually been pared back already.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) reported the following:

“Cost of living payments have filled some of the gap between basic benefits and the cost of life’s essentials, while the Household Support Fund has reinvigorated local crisis support. But February 2024 marked the last cost of living payments being sent out and a few weeks later the Household Support fund is due to come to an end.”

JRF’s report “As cost-of-living support ends, people still can’t afford life’s essentials” explains 

“Energy prices began rising fast in April 2021, and were quickly followed by rising food prices, by January 2024 they had risen 75% and 30% respectively. By comparison, benefits lagged way behind, rising just 13.5% over the same period. This pressure has been further intensified by the fact that these essentials make up a bigger share of low-income household spending compared to better off households. Debt and hardship built up over this time.”

A report from the Resolution Foundation found that low-income households feel the impact of the cost-of-living crisis more severely than others. In addition, low-income households do not have the same coping strategies available to them as those on higher incomes. Changing to cheaper brands is not an option for those already buying the cheapest products and the only way to save money is ultimately to cut back and consume less.

Housing in the Brighter Futures Area

The Brighter Futures area holds the most dense concentration of socially rented homes in the Cherwell District. However, in common with many other Local Councils, demand for social housing massively outstrips supply, and many low income households are living in the private rented sector. 

People living in private rented properties who are entitled to Housing Benefit receive an amount known as Local Housing Allowance (LHA). This is intended to cover rental payments on a property deemed to be the appropriate size for the household’s needs. However, the table below is a snapshot of the properties available in the Brighter Futures wards in June 2024, showing the rent being asked and the amount of LHA which would be paid to the tenant.

There were no homes to rent where the cost of renting would be completely covered by LHA. The smallest monthly sum required to top up LHA was £2.11, but the greatest was on the only studio flat available to rent at £434.77 per month.