Mr C was in severe debt and the bailiffs were due to evict him and his family in eight days. He and his family had suffered both bereavement and severe illness which had led to Mr C burying his head in the sand. The situation was assessed and a grant was immediately applied for from the Vicar’s Relief Fund (VRF) which thankfully came through within 24 hours. The critical support worker also contacted the court to arrange for a hearing to possibly get the eviction suspended and also assisted Mr C in setting up Direct Debits for the shortfall on his rent and to address his arrears so that when he went to court they could see he, along with the £350 grant from the (VRF) was making a concerted effort. The support worker also applied for a Discretionary Housing Payment from Fylde Borough Council which fortunately they granted within 24 hours. Mr C and his family are now safe from eviction and have Direct Debits set up so they will not fall into this situation again.

The 2017 STAR survey identified ‘Information and Communication’ as an improvement theme. A series of four focus groups were set up, three of which were attended sessions and one was an online session. These sessions allowed us to explore this theme with customers in more depth and helped us to understand how we could improve and enhance our communication offer to customers. The sessions also sought to understand how communication affects the overall customer experience.