Falkirk Council bosses admit they cannot lift people out of poverty – but they will work towards making life better for them

Council leader Cecil Meiklejohn and chief executive Kenneth Lawrie met with The Falkirk Herald to highlight the main points of the updated Towards a Fairer Falkirk poverty strategy 2019 to 2024 ahead of the proposals being discussed at tomorrow’s executive meeting.

The changes to the benefit system brought about by the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and the Welfare Reform and Work Bill 2015 will result in an estimated £60 million reduction in the Falkirk economy once fully rolled out.

Mr Lawrie said: “The introduction of Universal Credit created a very challenging environment for communities and all of our staff have to be aware people on Universal Credit will be facing challenges.

“They need to try and see if they can support vulnerable people. The more our staff understand these difficulties the more likely they are to respond in the best possible way.”

Councillor Meiklejohn admitted the council was not in a position, financial or otherwise, to put an end to the problem of poverty, but it has been taking a variety of steps to assist people as much as possible.

She said: “We will not be able to eradicate poverty, not will all the economic factors involved, but we will seek to mitigate poverty wherever we can. We may not be able to lift someone out of poverty but we can make their life better.”

The purpose of the first Towards a Fairer Falkirk poverty strategy, which was approved and implemented in 2011, was to reduce inequalities between the wealthiest and poorest in communities so everyone could have a better life.

That first strategy made a number of commitments to address poverty, including the introduction of a poverty impact assessment process to allow the council to understand the impact of its decisions on the most vulnerable people in its communities.

Since the strategy was approved the council has also undertaken a change programme to replace its One Stop Shop service with Advice and Support Hubs and community outreach, supported the establishment of Conduit Scotland to provide affordable credit and encourage take up of this form of financial support.

People claiming Universal Credit have received other forms of support, including personal budgeting advice and training in digital skills.

The council has now implemented an online Entitlement Calculator which allows people to easily undertake an income maximisation check to make sure each individual is getting all the benefits they are entitled to.

The new five year strategy, which Councillor Meiklejohn hopes will be agreed by members of the executive tomorrow, is based around four themes – fairer access to services, fairer money, fairer culture and fairer childhood.

She said: “There are areas that have a high level of poverty, but poverty can happen in small pockets – the council has come across people in poverty no matter what area they live in. This new strategy we are following is designed to try and cover all of that.

“It’s not for us to judge why and how someone is in poverty, but it is our job to try and support them through difficult times. We want people to maximise their income and claim for everything they are entitled to.

“We must make sure all our staff are aware and are mindful when people may well be in poverty and direct them to the best places to get help. For instance, schools and nursery staff may pick up on things and realise families need a bit of extra help.

“I don’t expect there to be any resistance to what we are proposing here – people may think it doesn’t go far enough. It is very targeted, but we think it is more effective this way rather than spreading ourselves too thin.”

Food poverty is very much an issue in the Falkirk area and Mrs Meiklejohn said the council will be striving to improve the lives of young people by continuing its successful activity and food programme over school holiday periods.

“We will be working with other partners to focus on the whole family when it comes to food poverty – ensuring the family is fed. Sometimes parents go without food to feed their children and that effects the children’s welfare because they are seeing their parents going without food.”

Mr Lawrie added it is important to get rid of the stigma surrounding poverty and that’s why activities run hand in hand with food provision during these school holiday initiatives – so everyone is treated the same no matter if they are well off or having difficulty.

“Our staff are now sensitive to issues like food poverty and they will keep food that is left at the end of the day and give a little extra to youngsters they are aware of whose families are struggling.”