4. Cabinet - CPEIF - 280426 (003) final
North Ayrshire Council · 28 April 2026
Back to Cabinet — 28 April 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 28th April 2026 Cabinet Title: Child Poverty & Early Intervention Fund (CPEIF): Proposed Budget Allocation of £276,000 for Child Poverty and Strengthened Governance Arrangements Purpose: To seek approval for the proposed allocation of the £276,000 child poverty budget into the CPEIF and outline strengthened governance and monitoring arrangements for future applications and approvals for use of the Fund Recommendation: That Cabinet approves the proposals to: i) Allocate the £276,000 child poverty budget to CPEIF, enabling continuity of the fund over 2026-27 1. Executive Summary 1.1 North Ayrshire continues to prioritise early intervention and prevention approaches that reduce child poverty and improve wellbeing. The CPEIF has become a key multi-agency driver of this shift, combining funding, third-sector innovation and partnership working aligned with the Child Poverty Action Plan 2023-26. 1.2 To consolidate progress and address increasing financial pressures on families, it is proposed that the £276,000 child poverty budget allocation be invested directly into the CPEIF. This will allow the continuation of high-impact work already underway and provide stability for partners delivering successful interventions. 1.3 The CPEIF has committed £1.013m to date with a further £70k under active consideration. Investment has supported whole family support, financial inclusion, childcare, digital inclusion, employability, housing advice and cost-of- living mitigation programmes. These interventions have demonstrated tangible reach, significant financial gains for families and strengthened partnership practice.
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1.4 Given the collaborative nature of the work, governance will continue through the Community Planning Partnership Senior Officers Group (CPP SOG). 1.5 To further enhance the fund’s future impact, it is proposed that standardised application and appraisal processes are introduced, and that monitoring and evaluation processes are further strengthened, ensuring consistency and transparency and a clear understanding of value for money across initiatives. 2. Background 2.1. Child poverty levels in North Ayrshire remain significantly above the national average despite encouraging downward trends. The Council and its partners continue to prioritise whole-system approaches towards prevention, early identification and financial inclusion. 2.2 As Cabinet heard in February, the CPEIF was established within the 2023/24 budget as a targeted £1.2m investment to reduce poverty drivers and mitigate cost‑of‑living pressures. Funding rounds in 2023–2025 have leveraged the strengths of local partners, aligned with the LOIP, CHES, Fairer Futures Partnership and Whole Family Support Programme. 2.3 The Fund has evolved from supporting rapid-response measures (e.g. school meal debt, emergency support) to enabling sustained, collaborative programmes in financial inclusion, childcare, employability and community capacity building. 2.4 Governance provided through the CPP/CPP SOG ensures multi-agency oversight, alignment with strategic objectives, and shared accountability. CPP SOG will continue to scrutinise applications and monitor impact. Furthermore, pending approval of the new Children and Families Plan for 2026 – 2029, which includes child poverty priorities, it is anticipated the CPEIF ongoing expenditure would be aligned to the new plan. 2.5 Across its first two years, the CPEIF has: • Committed £1.013m with a further £0.070m under consideration • In addition to activity already referred to above, the Fund has also supported innovative test-of-change models (co-designed with people with lived experience, integrated third sector partner delivery teams) in line with national policy direction with scalable potential for impactful development • Purchased licences to Smart Data Foundry in supporting the coordination of key and integrated data to begin evidencing where intervention is required by targeting specific areas of North Ayrshire based on local need in tandem with our Wellbeing Economy Dashboard • Allocated funding to test a Family Enterprise Programme. The programme is running in partnership with Ayrshire College’s Kilwinning Campus in delivering a co-designed, accredited short course in entrepreneurial skills to ten local parents with aspirations to turn their existing skills and services into local business and self-employment opportunities.
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2.6 As part of the 2026/27 budget, a further £276,000 ws allocated to support the delivery of child poverty priorities. It is proposed that this allocation move directly into the CPEIF. This approach enables the Council to deploy the funding through an established, partnership-governed mechanism that is already delivering demonstrable impact, while remaining flexible to emerging pressures. It also aligns with national direction of travel towards earlier intervention, prevention and whole-system working, including an increased emphasis on partnership delivery and enhanced use of data to target support and understand impact. Placing the allocation within CPEIF strengthens the collective approach across partners, avoids fragmentation of investment and supports shared learning and evidence- led decision-making in line with emerging national movement. 2.7 To date, there have been various mechanisms used to apply for access to CPEIF money. Individual teams and services have been monitoring and evaluating the spend and activity, and the recording of impact and progress made has been captured in contributions to the annual Child Poverty Progress reporting. However, there is now an opportunity to further strengthen the governance and monitoring arrangements. We propose that this should include: i) A standardised application process, with clear requirements on evidence of need, expected outcomes and alignment with the drivers of child poverty and whole family support ii) More explicit partnership working stipulations to encourage co-delivery, shared learning and non-duplication. iii) A revised monitoring and evaluation framework, with consistent indicators, shared impact dashboards and multi-agency learning loops. iv) Annual impact reviews published though the upcoming Children and Families Plan 2026-29. 2.8 The CPP SOG has been sighted on the general intentions, supports the approach and will continue to provide oversight and assurance. 3. Proposals 3.1 Cabinet is asked to: v) Allocate the £276,000 child poverty budget to CPEIF, enabling continuity of the fund over 2026-27. vi) Strengthen the future governance of the Fund by approving the implementation of the following processes: a. A standardised application process, with clearer requirements on evidence of need, expected outcomes and alignment with the drivers of child poverty and whole family support b. Partnership working stipulations to encourage co-delivery, shared learning and non-duplication. c. A revised monitoring and evaluation framework, with consistent indicators, shared impact dashboards and multi-agency learning loops. d. Annual impact reviews published though the upcoming Children and Families Plan 2026-29.
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4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 The proposal allocates £276,000 of existing budget to the CPEIF. All commitments flowing from this will be governed through established CPEIF processes. Human Resources 4.2 There are no human resource implications arising directly from this report. Legal 4.3 This proposal continues to support statutory obligations under the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 Interventions funded will continue to improve outcomes for low-income households and priority families. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 There are no climate change or carbon implications arising from this report. Key Priorities 4.6 The CPEIF expenditure demonstrates activity that contributes to our Council Plan, with a particular focus on transitioning to a Wellbeing Economy. Community Wealth Building 4.7 The Fund continues to strengthen community and third-sector capacity. Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) 4.8 There are no Islands Communities Impact Assessment implications arising from this report. United Nations Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 4.9 The proposal supports the realisation of children’s rights by reducing child poverty, addressing the drivers of poverty and improving access to services. Consumer Duty 4.10 There are no Consumer Duty implications arising from this report.
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5. Consultation 5.1 CPP SOG supports the general intentions and will continue to provide oversight and governance to the CPEIF. Sam Anson Executive Director (Education) For further information please contact Donna Martin, Strategy and Programme Manager (Child Poverty), on donnamartin@north-ayrshire.gov.uk.