The Strategy and Change Scrutiny Panel were scheduled to meet on 7 October 2025, to discuss the cost of living crisis and the council's response to benefit changes, as well as to review the panel's work programme. Also on the agenda was an overview of the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT).

Cost of Living and Response to Benefit Changes

The panel were scheduled to discuss a report on the cost of living crisis, which the report stated was still one of the biggest challenges facing Ealing's communities. The report highlighted the work of the council's cost of living team, which was established in November 2022. According to the report, the team's mission was to enable residents to lead financially independent lives, with a focus on:

• Early intervention
• Making life easier
• Getting more people online
• Getting the message out
• Working with the VCS and others
• Being part of the wider picture

The report included a cost of living update for April 2024 to March 2025, with key indicators and activities undertaken in each quarter. Some of the highlights from the update included:

• Co-producing a debt campaign with local organisations.
• Telephoning older people receiving disability benefits to check in and see how they are.
• Training council staff and voluntary organisations to carry out online benefits checks.
• Issuing over 100,000 Household Support Fund payments.
• Providing Household Support Fund grants to voluntary sector organisations.
• Supporting all schools to access free sanitary products.
• Co-ordinating the borough wide 'Warm and Welcome Spaces' programme.
• Introducing an employee benefits package for staff and care leavers.
• Handing out laptops to digitally excluded, unemployed residents.
• Issuing free SIM cards via community hubs and providing care leavers with free data.
• Developing a short information film and using council social media channels to promote financial and welfare support.
• Facilitating webinars for staff and voluntary sector representatives on topics such as dealing with loan sharks, energy efficiency and financial wellbeing.

The report also provided updates on specific initiatives, such as the proactive calling campaign, the laptop and data scheme, and the free street advertising on BT digital Street Hubs across the borough.

Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) Overview

The panel were also scheduled to discuss the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) platform, which the council invested in to take a more proactive and preventative approach to addressing poverty. According to the report, the web-based data dashboard takes monthly updates from key data sources and translates them to provide an in-depth insight into poverty and deprivation at a household level across the borough.

The report included a LIFT 7 Town Snapshot from May 2025, which provided data on the number of households on LIFT, households living in relative poverty, households experiencing food poverty, and households in fuel poverty across Ealing's seven towns: Acton, Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell, Northolt, Perivale, and Southall.

The report also included a summary of LIFT campaign outcomes, including the Pension Credit uptake campaign, the Free School Meals auto enrolment campaign, the Attendance Allowance campaign, and the Healthy Start campaign.

Panel Work Programme

The Strategy and Change Scrutiny Panel were scheduled to review their work programme for 2025-2026. The work programme included items such as the cost of living and response to benefit changes, the use of data and AI to target interventions, the place and prevention model, the Health Determinants Research Collaboration update, the Community Charter, the remuneration policy for VCS and resident participation, and the Race Equality Commission update.

The panel had previously visited Ealing Foodbank, one of the council's Cost of Living Partners, on 17 September 2025. A visit to Barking & Dagenham in respect of community engagement was yet to be confirmed. A visit to projects in Greenford in connection with the reports on Place and Prevention, and the Health Determinants Research Collaboration update, was also hoped to take place before the next meeting in December.

Minutes from the Previous Meeting

The minutes from the previous meeting held on 22 July 2025 were included in the report pack. During that meeting, the panel:

• Agreed the terms of reference.
• Agreed the co-option and external engagement arrangements.
• Agreed the 2025/26 outline work programme.
• Discussed an overview of Strategy & Change, presented by Amanda Askham, Strategic Director Strategy and Change.
• Discussed a Value for Money report on the Your Voice Your Town Consultancy, presented by Carol Sam, Assistant Director, Equalities and Engagement.
• Discussed a Workforce Strategy Progress Report, presented by Kim Brown, Director Workforce and Organisational Development. Sukhminder Kalsi, Branch Chair, Ealing UNISON and Town Planner, also addressed the panel.

Councillor Hitesh Tailor declared that he was an officer in another London borough. Councillor Stephen Donnelly, Cabinet member for inclusive economy, was also present at the meeting.