2024-12-31-accounts

Annual Report and Financial Declaration

For July 2023 – June 2024 Charity Registration No. SC050200 (Scotland)

Dundee Fighting For Fairness (DFFF)

Legal And Administrative Information

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Trustees

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Charity Number (Scotland) SC050200

Principal Address 1C South Baffin Street

Dundee DD4 6JN

Dundee Fighting For Fairness (DFFF)

Trustees’ Report

For July 2023 – June 2024

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DFFF currently still has no bank account and does not handle funds of any sort.

The Trustees of Dundee Fighting For Fairness (DFFF) still delegate the daily operations of DFFF to Faith in Community Dundee (FICD), an organisation that has been supporting members since 2017. FICD has secured a small amount of funding to help cover the transportation and venue costs that DFFF may incur, and they employ a staff member with the sole remit of supporting DFFF.

To make sure every member can access our monthly meetings, we hire a venue in the city centre that everyone can get to & we provide travel costs so that no one is excluded. During this reporting period, DFFF spent £1464.75 on these running costs during this period.

DFFF trustees and members are working with the staff at Faith in Community Dundee to continue to raise funds for our running costs. Until DFFF get a bank account, trustees have asked FICD to hold any funds that we raise as restricted funds to only be used for the running costs of DFFF.

These are some of the activities carried out by DFFF from July 2023 – June 2024

August 2023

• 1.) The Community Health Inequalities Manager asked if members could sense check the draft Engage Dundee Survey (a Council survey aimed at how the Cost of living crisis has impacted people). 2 members gave very honest feedback on what and why questions were being asked, suggested alternatives, phraseology, etc.

• 2.) Some members worked with the Community Planning Manager and the Head of Chief Executive Services to create a “Dundee Friendly” version of the Fairness Action Plan. DFFF had expressed that the Action Plan in its current format is unusable for 99% of the population of Dundee and that there should be an “easy read” version that could be easily referenced for service providers and easily accessible to the community.

• 3.) Members met with the Senior Manager of Council Advice Services came to hear an update on how the new Advice strategy for Dundee was going as members had influence in the new strategy the previous year.

• 4.) Had a meeting on Customer Services provision in Dundee with the Leader of the Council and Head Of Customer Services & I.T. The Council had

announced on March 29th that “From April 1st, 2023, face-to-face enquiries will no longer be available at Dundee House and the East & West District Housing Offices” - DFFF raised this as an issue of fairness and shared how it was affecting the community. In partnership with the Dundee Pensioner’s Forum, they wrote a letter to the Leader & CEO of the Council about their concerns. There was also a representative from the Dundee Federation of Tenants Association present at this meeting.

• 5.) 1 member was part of a panel to pick the final name for the Penumbra service that would be running out of the Community Wellbeing Centre.

September 2023

• 1.) members looked over the Communications Guidance for Discover Work partners, an employability consortium in Dundee and gave their thoughts and feedback.

• 2.) members met with the Communications Manager for Dundee City Council to think about how to promote the work and raise the profile of the FLP amongst the community. Members expressed that they are a voice for the people, listening and then communicating. We articulated that it’s the variety of the experiences in the room is what makes the Panel unique – professional and community expertise working together.

October 2023

Members met to decide which 2 or 3 issues within the Fairness Action Plan that the Panel should “deep dive” into. The conversation was entirely around issues within housing. Their main concerns were: people not knowing their housing rights, the quality of housing stock, private housing/landlords, the visibility/accessibility of housing providers. The group was unable to narrow it down any further than this, but their recommendation is that the FLP need to make housing a priority over the next year.

Members gathered to prepare for the FLP conference and discuss upcoming opportunities. Members agreed what work they’ve done over the past year that they want to showcase to the Conference and they also discussed the unique role that they play on the Panel and how to communicate that.

November 2024

• 1) 2 members of DFFF attended the launch event of Social Bite, who will be building a brand-new Social Bite Recovery Village in Dundee. The two members who attended have personal experience of recovery and working with people in recovery. They questioned Social Bite around how they are including Dundonians in their plans and they will seek to be part of any consultation work going forward.

• 2) 1 member was part of 2 days of interviewing for staff for Hope Point Dundee Wellbeing Support.

• 3) 3 members presented “Same Storm, Different Boat” at the St Pauls Cathedral Poverty Forum . The forum brought together different faith communities to

discuss how the Cost of Living has been impacting our community and the roles that faith communities can play.

• 4) This was the second annual conference that the Panel has hosted since its conception in late 2021. These conferences help the Fairness Leadership Panel share key issues the Panel has focused on over the past year and hear from a cross section of sectors about current issues and concerns. This helps the Panel as they set priorities for the year ahead. At the conference there were representatives from local communities; the Council; NHS and Public Health; Police; Leisure and Culture; further education; Scottish Government; third sector organisations; housing; neighbouring Councils; Faith communities; the Arts. We were also joined by representatives from 3 national poverty and inequality research and policy institutes - Joseph Rowntree Foundation, The Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit, Poverty Alliance; and also the national funder, The Robertson Trust.

• 5) 4 members gathered to critique the HSCP General Practice Strategy for 202429. Members shared their insights of accessing a GP through a wide lens of personal experiences including: disabilities, mental ill health, carers, care experienced, working, self-employed, universal credit, single parents, and more.

December 2023

• 1) 1 member, project coordinator, and director met with the Head of Customer Services & IT and the Service Manager for Customer Services to discuss the redesign of customer services since drop-in customer support has stopped. We got a sense on how this has been going from a council standpoint - it’s not perfect, but we’re working towards it being better. Work will continue on this in the new year

January 2024

• 1) Members reviewed what the Robertson Trust report had to say and what they had asked of the Council last year. Members agreed 10 asks of the Council to help improve how debt is collected in Dundee.

February 2024

• 1) A member attended the Poverty Alliance event about trialling a minimum income guarantee with unpaid carers – the member pushed that they really needed to speak to local groups, rather than make people come to you go to them

• 2) The Public Body Debt group asked 10 things of the Head of Customer Services & I.T. and her team and they agreed to 9 out of the 10 requests – one of the asks was a political issue that they aren’t allowed to comment on. They are currently working on a debt recovery strategy for the city which will include these 9 ask and present it to us by the beginning of April.

• 3) 3 members met with Dundee Federation of Tenants Association to hear about how they were getting on with their case to the ombudsman about the

Council stopping face-to-face customer service. Unfortunately, the Ombudsman said there was nothing they could do.

• 4) 2 members arranged a meeting with the Stobswell Forum leader since he had been at the Panel’s Conference and was very curious to know how the Stobswell Forum could support the work Dundee Fighting for Fairness are doing in the city. They have some interesting insight into what it’s like for private tenants an would be willing to help the Panel’s housing sub-group gather any case studies if needed

March 2024

• 1) 3 members met with Discover Work to review an application for funding. We raised questions or suggestions on where services needed to be clearer in their approaches and how they can provide best support for clients. This group will meet again in 6 months to review how the service is getting on and if their approaches are actually working for clients.

• 2) FLP Mental Health Sub-Group – 3 members of this group attended DVVA’s “Dundee Lived Experience Panel Launch Event”. This event was to start up their new Mental Health Panel. The 3 members who attended gave their insight and advice on how to start up a meaningful lived experience group.

• 3) DFFF – Building Stronger Communities – 2 members presented at the Building Stronger Communities Group. We were asked to share What work DFFF is currently doing, what challenges we’re seeing coming and what actions we’re planning as a result. The group was eager to hear how the group was able to recruit and maintain members, 1 member shared that a big reason that people stay involved is because people feel like they’re being listened to. Their words aren’t given to decision makers on their behalf, they actually get to meet decision makers and speak their own mind.

• 4) FLP Fairness Action Plan Group – 5 members of this group gathered with the Community Planning Manager and Equalities and Fairness Officer (responsible to writing and tracking this plan). They gave insight into the ‘Work & Wages’ theme in the report and began discussing the ‘Benefits & Advice’ section. Members of the group were very clear that the way the Plan is now is pretty pointless because it’s not clear how outcomes are tracked and monitored.

• 5) DFFF - 1 member attended Hope Point Stakeholder Group Meeting.

April 2024

• 1) 5 members from the Fairness Action Plan group attended two meetings with the Community Planning Manager and Equalities and Fairness Officer to give their final thoughts on the Fairness Action Plan and what needs to go into the update. They reviewed the themes: Work & Wages, Benefits & Advice, Attainment & Child Poverty, Social Inclusion & Stigma, Health Inequalities, Housing & Communities. Their comments and critiques have gone to the services responsible for these themes. The report will be going to the Committee by the end of this month.

• 2) 3 members from the Public Body Debt Group met with the Senior Manager of Council Advice Services & the Service Manager for Customer Services and Cooperate Debt to get an update on their progress in writing a new Debt Recovery Policy. This new policy will incorporate the guidance and recommendations from the Fairness Leadership Panel. They hadn’t gotten very far, but members were pleased with the beginnings and what they planned to put in the plan. This group will meet later in the year to review the full plan.

• 3) DFFF - 1 member was part of an interviewing panel for relief staff for Hope Point, Dundee Wellbeing Support.

May 2024

• 1.) members created a Housing sub-group (5 members attended) as housing has been a concern that’s been raised by the community. Some things they discussed: how the current housing stock is used and how it could improve; Ensuring that Private sector tenants know their rights and know where to go if they need help; how to gather evidence/intelligence from the community; Reviewing the Housing section of the Fairness Action Plan

• 2.) members created a Mental Health & Isolation sub-group (5 members attended) as mental health and Isolation has been a concern that’s been raised by the community. The group expressed that there seems to be a new cohort of people that have never really struggled with their mental health before and don’t have the coping strategies needed to move forward and there are more and more barriers to accessing mental health support. They want to do community investigation around what the community identifies as interventions that actually work for people and what needs to be done.

• 3.) members created a Third Sector sub-group (4 members attended) as the lack of support to the third sector has been a concern that’s been raised by the community. This was the group’s first time meeting together. During this meeting the group agreed an approach on how to address the weight and pressure that the third sector is feeling right now.

• 4.) 3 members met with the Council’s Communications Manager to give insight on how to communicate new election information (Westminster has changed how people can vote for this upcoming election). The group was really pleased with how proactive they’re trying to be getting out to communities who are often forgotten.

• 5.) DFFF has agreed to work with JRF on a research project. Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) currently supports the work of DFFF, and their involvement in the Fairness Leadership Panel. Chris Birt, Associate Director for Scotland, is familiar with the work we do and meets regularly with us. He has a strong overview of the rest of Scotland and is clear that there is nothing else like this in Scotland, or even the UK. Chris is keen to gather some research about the work of DFFF and the FLP, and the impact this has in Dundee. He has assigned one of his researchers to work with us for the next 2-3 months, interviewing key stakeholders across DFFF/FLP and partners, to better understand why and what aspects of this relationship have worked well, with

the aim of sharing learning more widely with key stakeholders and audiences across Scotland/Northern Ireland. interviews started this month

• 6.) The Third Sector sub-group met with our local TSI to discuss the challenges the Third Sector is currently facing. This group has heard from the community that there are increasing pressures (e.g.: Covid, Cost of Living, services being cut, etc) being put on the Third Sector and they are feeling stretched and burnt out. “More and more is being asked of us, but we have fewer and fewer resources to fill these needs. Our people are burning out.” In this initial conversation, the group wanted to hear about the challenges the third sector is raising to the TSI, how they are supporting the third sector through these challenges, and what they think could be done in Dundee.

• 7.) 2 DFFF members went through to Stirling to attend an Poverty Alliance event around the Minimum Income Guarantee. Poverty Alliance shared some of the research they had done and they also wanted to hear from people about ways to gain more public support for this campaign. DFFF members were eager to promote this campaign and discussed how we can get the word out in Dundee.

• 8.) 1 member attended a planning meeting to start to plan Hope Point, Dundee Wellbeing Supports 1 year anniversary event.

June 2024

• 1) 2 members attended the Child Poverty & Inequality Strategic Leadership Group. This group will decide if what the city is doing around Fairness is good enough so it’s INCREDIBLY important to have community representation on this group.

• 2) 1 member attended 2 planning meetings to continue to plan Hope Point, Dundee Wellbeing Supports 1 year anniversary event that will happen in August 2024.

Conclusion

In May 2024, we were utterly devastated at the unexpected loss of . was a big hearted, generous, kind, thoughtful man who fought every day to make Dundee fairer for folks. He was a member of our first Dundee Fairness Commission, a founder member of Dundee Fighting for Fairness and co-chair of the Dundee Fairness Leadership Panel alongside , Leader of the Council. He was also our friend. He inspired us, challenged us, made us laugh, he kept us on our toes and didn’t let us become complacent. We will miss him so much.

For the year ahead, we are hoping to continue to expand our membership and include more voices from different sections of society. We are very grateful for the partnerships we are forming and will continue to seek out decision makers to work with and challenge so that Dundee can continue to be a fairer city in name.

Financial review

Dundee Fighting For Fairness (DFFF) has no finances to review.

Structure, governance and management

Dundee Fighting For Fairness (DFFF) is a charity SCIO, registered in Scotland and is governed by its constitution. The trustees are responsible for the administration and direction of the charity.

The trustees who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:

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All the charity’s trustees are appointed or reappointed by the members at the annual general meeting. New members and trustees will be recruited on an ad hoc basis, as and when required to align with DFFF’s constitution.

The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

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