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An extra £190k will be made available to help tackle poverty in Falkirk. Members of Falkirk Council backed the plans this week to boost the Household Support Fund (HSF) to support low-income residents struggling with the cost of living.

Free school meals and bridging payments continue at the current funding levels for December 2022 reverting to Scottish Government eligibility criteria for the remainder of the financial year. It was also agreed to explore further potential collaboration with the Soil Association Scotland on their Food for Life programme to provide food to our young people.

Plans were also agreed for further action, building on the range of support already in place. This includes support for unemployed parents, extending and maximising the help available from our advice services and libraries as well as additional staff training

Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, Leader of Falkirk Council said:
“Tackling the effects of poverty remains one of our highest priorities in the coming years. These measures, as well as the ones we have been working on throughout 2022, are helping thousands, however, there is a lot of work still needed to really make a difference. Our work will go on and, along with other local partners, we will work together to minimise cost of living problems and the general economic situation families and individuals find themselves in.”

What's been done

In June, the Executive agreed:

  • to allocate £250k additional funding to HSF
  • allocate £192k for next two years to increase resources to help people maximise their benefits and access in-kind support
  • provide free swimming access to people on low income at a cost of around £180k
  • continue to provide £3.50 per day payment in lieu of free school meals during the summer and October holidays at a cost of £344k

Since then, ongoing work has included:

  • HSF re-launched September 2022 and from end October has paid £287,800 to 1,583 households (supported 1,827 adults and 1,369 children)
  • recruitment of four new Household Support Officer posts to work within Community Advice Welfare Benefits Team for the next two years
  • free swimming for Go Card holders. Membership has increased by 140 and over 3,600 swims by 567 Go card members during Sept and Oct - a 31% increase from the same period last year
  • poverty awareness training was provided to 133 staff during Challenge Poverty week. A session was also held with Council’s senior leadership team to increase their understanding and consider how they can tackle poverty within their own services
  • information was sent to parents and carers via schools resulting in a big increase in use of our online benefits calculator
  • a campaign ran over the summer to promote pension credit to residents in our high flats
  • promoting our eight libraries as warm spaces
  • the Employment Training Unit has supported 66 parents experiencing in-work poverty and provided pre-employment support to 150 unemployed parents. The team also delivered Financial Support surgeries in partnership with Community Advice Services and early learning and childcare centres

Further action

Further action planned in 2023 includes:

  • households in receipt of Council Tax Reduction will be offered the Local Authority COVID Economic Recovery payment of £75 by January 2023
  • the £190k added to the HSF will support approx. 1,044 households with essential costs and encourage further take up to maximise income and minimise costs
  • a rolling annual plan of support available has been developed with targeted messaging based around annual events such as kids going back to school, start of new year, and reducing fuel use during winter
  • by end of January 2023 all libraries will have access to the Council’s Wi-Fi system allowing consistent connectivity for laptops and iPads provided to children and young people through the Connected Falkirk programme
  • a marketing campaign to maximise uptake of Go Card membership and offering free tea or coffee from now until the end of February 2023 to encourage people to stay after a swim
  • extending the Advice Pro system used by Community Advice Service to capture the number and impact of financial health checks and will include non-financial in-kind support such as free bus travel, period products and swimming