• BVSC and Barrow Cadbury Trust publish report on Cost of Living Crisis following 1 November summit
• The crisis is worsening existing inequalities within Birmingham City; those already in poverty, living in deprived areas, in racialised and other marginalised communities are being hit the hardest
• Birmingham’s Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector capacity is at breaking point with organisations facing unprecedented levels of need in numbers, intensity and complexity
• With funding stretched, and one in seven City VCFSE sector workers paid less than the Real Living Wage, low resources and pay are contributing to the crisis, affecting staff mental health and sector recruitment and retention
• The sector’s ability to “Step-In and Step Up” cannot be taken for granted – action is needed now to increase sector funding, pay, support and collaboration, and to provide long-term sustainable solutions

Cost of Living Report
A BVSC and Barrow Cadbury Trust (Charity Number 1115476) funded report on the Cost of Living crisis, following a summit on 1 November 2022, outlines the harsh realities faced by local citizens, and highlights the significant support being offered by Birmingham City’s Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector, even as it faces its own Cost of Living challenges.

“2023 State of the Sector Insight Report #1: Cost of Living”, produced by BVSC’s Research Team, provides context for the Cost of Living crisis and outlines key themes and findings, before making recommendations and thoughts for the future for the Birmingham City VCFSE sector and partners.

The report found that:

• The Cost of Living crisis is exacerbating existing inequalities within the City; those already in poverty, living in deprived areas, in racialised and other marginalised communities are being hit the hardest
• Birmingham VCFSE sector capacity is at breaking point with organisations facing unprecedented levels of need in numbers, intensity and complexity
• With funding stretched, and one in seven (14.5%) of City VCFSE workers paid less than the Real Living Wage, low resources and pay are contributing to the crisis, affecting staff mental health and sector recruitment and retention

The report makes wide-ranging recommendations for the sector and partners around collaboration, funding, workforce & volunteering, information and communication, strategy, crime & the community.

Crucially, it warns that the sector’s ability to “Step-In and Step Up” cannot be taken for granted – action is needed now to increase sector funding, pay, support and collaboration, and to provide long-term sustainable solutions.

Brian Carr, BVSC Chief Executive said:

“BVSC’s 2023 Insight Report into the cost of living crisis has been informed by the knowledge and experiences of a wide range of community groups and partner agencies. In addition to laying out the stark challenges faced by local citizens, it highlights the remarkable level of support being offered by the city’s voluntary sector, even as it faces its own economic challenges. It reaffirms BVSC’s commitment to supporting local voluntary groups and volunteers, and advocating for civil society’s vital role in protecting our society’s most vulnerable communities.”

Debbie Pippard, Director of Programmes, Barrow Cadbury Trust said:

“Drawing on the experience of individuals from organisations across Birmingham, this report highlights the challenges faced by local people and the organisations established to help them.  While the problems faced by the current crisis can seem overwhelming and intractable, this Insight Report shows that much is being done to help, and that lessons learned about collaboration and coordination during the pandemic can be built on to ensure everyone gets the support they need”.

Andrew Gordon, Programme Officer from the Living Wage Foundation (Charity Number 1107264) said:

“This report shows that even under immense pressure, the VSCFE sector in Birmingham continues to do brilliant work. Given the increasing pressure from the cost of living crisis, it’s more important than ever to consider workforce investment and paying a Living Wage to make sure that those doing so much to help receive the backing they need and are able to maintain their incredible efforts.”

An Executive Summary and full report is available at: https://www.bvsc.org/cost-of-living 

Cost of Living Event

The report is drawn from the BVSC and Barrow Cadbury Trust funded Cost of Living event which took place on 1 November 2022.

Further details of the event are here. Details of speakers and presentations are here.

Cost of Living Toolkit

BVSC has developed a Cost of Living Toolkit for use by the VCFSE sector and partner organisations.

The toolkit is available here.

Does your organisation have anything they would like to add to the toolkit? Please contact [email protected]

Next Steps

The Cost of Living Insight Report will be distributed to attendees of the Cost of Living event and those who have expressed interest from across the VCFSE, public and private sectors.

It will be used to inform future work on Cost of Living issues across the VCFSE sector.

For example, one of the key issues raised in the report was around the need to support workforce wellbeing.

BVSC Research are holding a Staff Health & Wellbeing event to support the sector to respond to these challenges on 13 February, 9.30am – 3pm. To register for the event click here.

Look out for further BVSC activities and events, and please feel free to share the Insight Report, Toolkit and details of the Staff Health & Wellbeing event wider!

2023 State of the Sector Insight Reports

The Cost of Living Insight Report is the first of five Insight Reports based on issues raised in the 2021 State of the Sector survey.

Look out for future reports on:

• VCFSE Mini Race Impact Summit
• The Vision for Volunteering
• Workforce Wellbeing
• Finance and Funding

Further Information:

• Report: Visit https://www.bvsc.org/cost-of-living Contact Sophie Wilson, Director of BVSC Research: [email protected]
• Event: Visit https://www.bvsc.org/news/cost-of-living-event-was-a-success Contact Elizabeth Goodchild, Strategic Partnership Manager at BVSC at [email protected]
• Toolkit: Visit https://www.bvsc.org/cost-of-living Contact [email protected] to add to the toolkit.
• 2023 State of the Sector Insight Reports: Contact Sophie Wilson, Director of BVSC Research: [email protected]
• Any other questions: Please contact BVSC Comms at [email protected]