Falkirk Council warning that women and children will be worst hit by poverty

Thousands of families in Falkirk are facing poverty – and that could mean many children going hungry as the full economic impact of Covid-19 starts to be felt.
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Today (Thursday) members of Falkirk Council’s executive will have to decide how they can best support families who are worried about not having enough to eat – knowing that number has been rapidly rising since the Covid-19 pandemic took hold.

In particular, they must find the best way to help families get through the summer holidays knowing it will be impossible to organise the activities and food the council usually provides for vulnerable families.

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The report in front of councillors reveals that in March this year there were 8405 claims made for Universal Credit across the Falkirk Council area – that’s an increase of more than 2000 on the same time last year.

Grab and go food bags made up for school children during the Easter holidays in kitchens at Larbert High SchoolGrab and go food bags made up for school children during the Easter holidays in kitchens at Larbert High School
Grab and go food bags made up for school children during the Easter holidays in kitchens at Larbert High School

Meanwhile, crisis grant applications have also increased by 50 per cent. And all the signs nationally point to a deep recession on the horizon.

Council leader Cecil Meiklejohn said: “We know the longer term economics mean unemployment will increase before it begins to decrease and, potentially, it’s going to be 2023 before we get back to pre-Covid employment levels.”

As the UK government’s furlough scheme comes to an end, many businesses will need to take decisions about whether or not they re-open or go to the wall.

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Mrs Meiklejohn said: “We’ve still to see the impact of that so there is the potential for this situation to continue and it will certainly become more challenging.

Councillor Cecil MeiklejohnCouncillor Cecil Meiklejohn
Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn

“I think we are going to end up with more families and more children in poverty.”

Experience shows that women and families will be hardest hit in an economic downturn.

Fairer Falkirk manager Sally Buchanan said: “Not only are women more likely to be in retail, catering and other jobs that have been badly hit by the pandemic, women are also most impacted when children can’t go to school.”

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The rising number of children collecting grab bags from schools every day shows the need is already there.

“If you’re struggling on a low income and things are getting harder and you’ve got kids at home all the time you’re using more energy for heating, cooking, trying to run any devices you do have – there is a challenge to your finances all round so any extra bit of help is important,” said Ms Buchanan.

The council now gives out more than 2500 grab and go bags every day from schools across the district.

This Friday they expect to give out more than 3000 as the take-up on a Friday is always slightly more as the bags contain extra food to help families over the weekend.

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“Those numbers tells us how important this is to our families,” said Mrs Meiklejohn.

Falkirk Council is determined that the help will continue over the holidays – the question for councillors is the best way to give that help.

Giving out bags has the advantage of being available to any child who needs one and also allow schools to keep contact with especially vulnerable families.

The council is grateful to the catering team and other staff who have said they are willing to make sure it can keep happening if required.

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The other option is offering money, which the council did at Easter time, directly to families receiving clothing grants and education maintenance allowance.

If they decide to give the cash, it would be up to £100 per child for the holiday period – around £3 per day.

This is not a political decision for the councillors but it’s a tough one, as they know their choice could impact on people in desperate circumstances.

But there is also a growing question mark over how long Falkirk Council will have enough cash to foot the bill for the support.

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The council received £878,000 as its share of £30 million that was allocated to local authorities to provide food, working with charities and volunteers to make sure it reached anyone who needed it.

But the money won’t last long; providing grab and go bags over the holidays has been costed at £313,000 per day – while giving cash would cost between £488,000 and £683,000, depending on the amount being given.

The money also allows them to meet the demand for emergency food parcels which has soared since April and is now costing £13,000 a week to provide, working with partners in the community to keep the service going.

Councillor Meiklejohn believes that despite the extra funding they have received there will still be a shortfall and she says they will have
 to revisit their February budget.

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“The impact of Covid is going to be long-lasting and we will have to focus very clearly on the most important priorities for our communities and that does mean that some very challenging decisions will have to be made by elected members,” she said.