Breakout session
Summary of combined feedback from all three breakout rooms:
Breakout discussions highlighted a consistent set of priorities for GD3, centred on prevention, inclusion and more joined-up support.
Stakeholders highlighted a clear shift towards crisis prevention and early intervention, with partners prioritising financial resilience, income maximisation, budgeting support, and earlier identification of households at risk through trusted, community-based networks.
The cost of living remains a significant pressure, with rising energy costs, increasing debt, housing affordability challenges, and growing demand for crisis support, particularly among working families and households with more complex needs.
Support must also better reach underrepresented and harder-to-reach groups, including deaf and blind communities, people with low literacy, digitally excluded households, carers, rural communities, and families with complex needs.
Partners identified rising demand for support with housing conditions, energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies, including cold, damp and mouldy homes, boiler repairs, and helping customers understand heat pumps, solar technology and evolving tariffs.
Partners also highlighted the need to improve awareness and signposting across essential services, including carbon monoxide safety, smoke alarms, water affordability schemes, LPG usage and community-based support.
Digital exclusion was identified as a cross-cutting barrier, particularly for vulnerable households, older people, deaf and blind communities, and those with limited digital access or skills. Stakeholders emphasised the importance of accessible services, simpler customer journeys and tailored support.
Water affordability was raised as an area where clearer communications and stronger cross-utility signposting could help households access support earlier and improve financial resilience.
Collaboration Opportunities
There was strong support for enhanced collaboration across utilities, with stakeholders identifying opportunities to improve coordination, reduce duplication and provide more joined-up support. Areas of focus include streamlining processes such as the PSR, improving awareness of available support across sectors, and delivering joint community engagement activity. Cross-utility collaboration was also seen as an opportunity to improve consistency in how social value is measured and to strengthen referral pathways between organisations.
Closing remarks
The CIVS Annual Strategic Workshop provided an important opportunity to reflect on GD2 delivery and shape future priorities. Feedback reinforced the value of partnership working, the need for continued flexibility and responsiveness, and the importance of embedding preventative, inclusive support models. The insight gathered will play a key role in informing NGN’s GD3 delivery, ensuring that future programmes remain aligned with stakeholder priorities and responsive to the evolving needs of customers in vulnerable situations.
