Having offered training for trusted intermediaries in London, Advicenow looked to offer courses in other areas. Training was developed for trusted intermediaries working with vulnerable women at risk of housing and homelessness problems in the North West and South West of England. The training was provided through three online modules supplemented by materials on the Advicenow site.

Key findings

49 participants attended the courses. Videos were viewed 1, 411 times and guides viewed 10, 624 times. It was estimated that 5, 256 women would receive support.

There were positive changes in all aspects of legal capability. Participants developed an improved knowledge of housing law and had greater confidence in dealing with housing law issues. They were able to signpost service users to other services and to work with other professionals to advocate for vulnerable women.

Connecting these changes to the course requires caution. This is due to the small sample size, lack of control group, and the limited follow-up period in which intermediaries were using what they learned from the course.

Early assessment of Covid-19 impact showed issues of digital capability and digital exclusion. The main communication method used was phone, then email.

Conclusions and recommendations

Both remote and integrated teaching materials should be scaled up. They need to be adapted to various settings, reflecting the different challenges in rural and urban areas. This should include training for social prescribers and include new material on the role of local authorities.

Rigorous evaluation needs to be developed to establish numbers of people supported; outcomes for clients; comparison of social prescribers and other trusted intermediaries; if people resolve issues without further referral; whether clients increased their legal capability.

Medium and longer term projects are needed to test research questions. This would enable understanding of persistence of knowledge and confidence improvements, retention rates of participants, and value of follow-up courses.

More research is needed into the effects and extent of digital exclusion, to establish what forms of communication work best.

Methodology

People who took the course completed pre and post course questionnaires. To establish a control group, partner agencies asked service users who did not take the course to also complete these questionnaires.

Evaluators observed training sessions, held informal talks with participants and agency colleagues, and interviewed partner organisations.