We are taking action to tackle child poverty
Council leader reveals plan to address rising figures
A plan to tackle the rocketing number of children living in poverty in Renfrewshire will be published next month.
Renfrewshire Council has said its new local child poverty action report will set out measures that aim to lift 7,000 local children out of poverty.
The Express revealed on Monday that almost a quarter of all children in Renfrewshire - 23.1 per cent - live in poverty after household costs are paid.
The statistics, gathered before the Covid-19 pandemic devastated household incomes, shows that child poverty has increased by four per cent in the past five years.
It means that, apart from Glasgow City, child poverty is growing faster in Renfrewshire than any other local authority in Scotland.
But council leader Iain Nicolson has told the Express that the figures only tell “part of the story”.
He said: “While the latest figures are not welcome news, we recognise that statistics only tell a part of the story and we remain committed to ensuring that all children have the best possible start in life no matter what their background.
“We know the pandemic has greatly affected families and we have already carried out an extensive community impact assessment to make sure we have the right support and investment in place to support them.
“These insights have helped us develop our latest local child poverty action report, which will be published shortly and will set out how we will take forward our existing work to reduce child poverty and inequality based on the current needs of Renfrewshire families.”
The feedback provided by families via the Poverty Alliance’s Get Heard initiative also influenced the council’s decision to allocate £1.4million of its social renewal budget to tackling the issues around poverty which its says have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
A wider economic recovery also aims to bolster household incomes through job creation and upskilling the local workforce.
A further £1m is also allocated to anti poverty schemes every year as part of the council’s Tackling Poverty Projects initiative.
The council’s income advice service and Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau have also been working with local families to ensure they are receiving all of the financial support and benefits they are entitled to.
Over the past year the two teams have collectively put more than £12m into the pockets of Renfrewshire people.
Mr Nicolson added: “Our employability service, Invest in Renfrewshire, continues to provide person-centred support to help parents who can face additional barriers to finding work.
“The team also supports those in employment to increase their wages through training and learning skills.
“This supports families to raise their income and helps to tackle in- work poverty.”
Additional work to address the impact of poverty on children is done in Renfrewshire schools.
The local authority’s efforts to reduce the attainment gap between the most and least well- off pupils is narrowing and has seen Renfrewshire’s work in this area rated as ‘excellent’ by Education Scotland.
A further 123,000 to reduce the cost of the school day is also helping low income parents with things such as food vouchers, energy top-ups, toiletries and clothing, as well as the usual stationery and school uniforms.
We remain committed to ensuring that all children have the best possible start in life