Working together to reduce child poverty in West Lothian

A meeting of West Lothian Council Executive approved plans set out in a new report which outlines the latest steps being taken to tackle child poverty at a local level.

NHS Lothian, West Lothian Council and members of the Child Poverty Reference Group and Community Planning Partnership Anti-Poverty Task Force have worked to co-produce West Lothian Local Child Poverty Action Report 2020/21. The report notes that the most recent data available from 2019/20 indicates that 24.6 per cent of children in West Lothian were living in relative poverty.

Council leader Lawrence Fitzpatrick said: “This report details the strong partnership focused approach with local organisations, sharing expertise to develop an intervention-based approach to try and mitigate the effects of poverty on young people in West Lothian.”

He added: “The Covid-19 pandemic has served to further highlight longstanding inequalities within our communities. There is a great deal of work ahead and it is crucial that we come together at both a local and national level to develop approaches to help those most at need.”

A two-year child poverty action plan has been developed with a focus on responding to the ongoing impact of the pandemic with the aim of seeing a reduction in the number of children and young people living in relative poverty.