Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
JIM LOGUE Authority ‘can and must do more’ to combat deprivation
At North Lanarkshire Council, we have taken enormous steps over the years to deal with the blight of deprivation and poverty.
From creating 6000 jobs as part of our Youth Investment Programme, to our commitment to building more than 2000 council houses by 2026, we have demonstrated our seriousness about addressing these issues.
The council was one of the first local authorities to commit to the Living Wage, and we support the voluntary sector to help people every day.
But we can and must do more. The most recent Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation showed, once again, that there are too many parts of North Lanarkshire which are recorded as being deprived.
Last week, we took a big step towards having the most serious examination of poverty, deprivation and fairness we have ever had when the council backed the creation of a Fairness Commission for North Lanarkshire.
The commission will be independently chaired, and we hope to appoint someone suitably qualified soon.
Crucially, the council won’t have control over the commission, which will have free reign to examine all the issues which lead to deprivation and poverty and will be able to make serious recommendations to the council and its partners.
A report prepared by the New Economics Foundation, an independent think-tank, said Fairness Commissions had: “Succeeded in generating fresh initiatives and a renewed commitment to action among local authorities and their partners.”
That renewed commitment is what I intend to deliver on; making sure the council, and its partners does everything it can to minimise poverty and deprivation, and increase levels of equality and fairness, in the communities we serve.
But a truly meaningful answer in the long-term needs help from beyond North Lanarkshire’s borders.
Deprivation is not just about money. It’s about health, education and opportunities.
Naomi Eisenstadt, the respected expert adviser commissioned by the Scottish Government, published her report in January.
Last week, the council called on the Scottish Government to produce a meaningful, strategic response to her work.
Poverty and deprivation scar our society.
I promise we will work with anyone who sees equality and fairness as a priority, and I believe the work of our Fairness Commission will set a course for the council and all those who deliver services to the people of North Lanarkshire.