We're delighted to congratulate Esme Hall, from Stockton on Tees Council, who won our stand prize of a pair of cinema tickets at the IRRV Spring Conference in Leeds this month. The conference sessions were lively and it was good to hear the stories of innovation from local councils, including partners of ours such as Cambridge City Council (pictured at the top) who work directly with utility companies to support vulnerable customers. We discussed the welfare landscape and how best to manage that, including taking on board some of the insight provided by DWP. Further south, in London, we heard exciting stories at NESTA's City Data Conference about how the good use of data can transform public services. Getting the basics right was the core message from the speakers. Only when data is
correctly set up in a uniform and accessible way can innovation truly flourish. Speaking at Utility Week 2018 in Birmingham this month, Deven delivered a speech titled Customer Solutions: The debt landscape in response to a changing policy environment where he talked about identifying and helping vulnerable people deal with debt. He said, "Whenever I speak at a utility sector conference I'm always struck by how open people in the sector are to hearing what works elsewhere, and their commitment to helping support families in need." View Deven's slidedeck from Utility Week 2018 here
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