Elected members first approved funding to employ a specialist welfare support worker who will be based within the Levenmouth Justice Social Work (JSW) team.

The new post will provide additional support for clients alongside the JSW team’s core offer which aims to reduce reoffending rates, while the role will also be key in helping to upskill current JSW staff on welfare support work over the next two years.

The post holder will provide guidance, information and practical interventions for people being liberated from custodial sentences, and will also seek to support those who are being managed in the community on Criminal Justice Orders such as Community Payback Orders who have multiple barriers to managing a resilient lifestyle.

A total of £75,000 has been set aside for the specialist welfare support worker role, and will be split over the 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years.

Secondly, councillors agreed a contribution of £13,715 to help fund the Through the Gears Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) project approach.

It is estimated that up to 40 young individuals will be supported between October 2023 and June 2024, and participants will be engaged around several themes during the programme including the dangers of illegal motorcycle use, fire-raising, drug and alcohol awareness etc.

A key piece of learning from the programme will focus on the perspective of victims suffering from the impact of ASB, and the wider negative impact on the community caused by this behaviour.

Activities available will include motorbike sessions under supervision, along with workshop sessions so a full appreciation of the workings and required maintenance for safe motorcycle use can be imparted.

A range of outdoor learning sessions will also be built into the programme to maintain interest and provide variety, while classroom sessions with Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and drug and alcohol partners will make up the rest of the package on offer.

And lastly, funding of just over £19,954 was also agreed to support the area’s new Stay Active programme, which will aim to improve physical activity, health and wellbeing and reduce the barriers many people face when trying to access such provision.

Sessions will be provided on a ‘pay what you can’ basis and will run over a 24-week period across the school term time in four locations. Alongside this, Stay Active will provide two week-long holiday camp provisions across the year.

A paid coach will be supported by five young leaders and three volunteers per session, meaning 32 volunteer and capacity-building opportunities over the whole programme, while there will also be a degree of food provision made available during the sessions.

Councillor Colin Davidson, convener of the Levenmouth Area Committee, said: “Supporting initiatives like these is always something we’ve been keen to do in Levenmouth, and we’re leading the way in many respects.

“This committee is very innovative and the projects we’ve looked at today are ground-breaking in many ways.

“But we’ve also been good at scrutiny, so we’ve asked for update reports to make sure these projects are making a tangible difference on the ground as they progress.”