North Ayrshire Council reveals child poverty strategy

The draft Child Poverty Strategy 2023-26 has been developed by the council and its partners to work towards driving down child poverty across the area.

Through its second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, covering 2022-2026, the Scottish Government is aiming to deliver the lowest levels of child poverty in Scotland in the last 30 years.

According to figures released by the charity End Child Poverty in Scotland, in July 2022 there were 5,394, or 24.7%, of children in North Ayrshire living in poverty.

Updated statistics announced recently show that here in North Ayrshire the estimated number of children living in poverty is now thought to be 7141 – 29%. This is against a national average of 24% and only second to Glasgow City, which has a rate of 32%.

North Ayrshire Council’s top priorities include tackling child poverty and supporting residents through the cost-of-living crisis. The three key drivers of child poverty are income from employment, income from social security and the cost of living.

The council’s areas of focus for 2023-2026 to reduce the numbers of young people living in deprivation and make life better for families include:

• Involving residents – including children and young people – in service design and delivery
• Committing to a No Wrong Door approach, meaning when residents ask for cost-of-living information they are directed to the correct support, regardless of who they ask within the council or partner organisations
• Advocating for residents in accessing resources and funding
• Examining how economic development, transport, skills and childcare provision can be combined to break down barriers to employment - with parents as a priority group
• Improving access to affordable childcare
• Maximising the uptake of benefits to ensure families receive the support they are entitled to
• Removing financial barriers to education
• Linking adult and children’s services better
• Encouraging greater job quality through Fair Work and
• Using data to specifically target local issues linked to child poverty.

Key milestones over the past year have included the Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board – chaired by council leader Marie Burns - being set up and supported by a three-year £1.4m Child Poverty and Cost-of-Living fund which was allocated by the council in the 2023-24 budget.

The council has also worked tirelessly in: maximising access to transport for under-22-year-olds; tackling rising home energy bills through the Energy Smart initiative; streamlining access to benefits; combatting the cost of the school day and looking at Housing Allocation Policy through the lens of Child Poverty.

In the year ahead, the council’s key actions include: boosting employment opportunities for parents by introducing a Parental Employment Coordinator; reviewing financial inclusion services; continuing to use Pupil Equity Funding (PEF), which is additional Scottish Government funding aimed at reducing the poverty-related attainment gap, to minimise the impact of poverty on learning; reviewing early years and out-of-school care through a mini enquiry; improving support for young mums; Providing additional support to vulnerable families and children impacted by fuel poverty.

Additionally, work with Glasgow City Council and the Improvement Service will be used to identify families’ needs through a data-sharing pilot project with Social Security Scotland on the use of data.

Councillor Marie Burns said: “Tackling child poverty is at the heart of everything we do as a local authority. It is one of our key priorities.

“It is our duty to protect children and ensure they have opportunities to thrive, and we are determined – with input from residents and people in our communities with experience of poverty – to do just this.”

At a meeting of Cabinet on Tuesday, June 13, the Child Poverty Strategy 2023-26 was approved ahead of it being submitted to the Scottish Government and published online through the North Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership.

Cabinet also approved the North Ayrshire Child Poverty Report 2022-23 and Action Plan 2023-24, both of which are statutory requirements of the Scottish Government.