13 - Child Poverty Action Plan Progress Report 2023-24
North Ayrshire Council · 27 August 2024
Back to Cabinet — 27 August 2024 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 27th August 2024 Cabinet Title: Child Poverty Action Plan Progress Report 2023-24 Purpose: To consider and approve the Child Poverty Action Plan Progress Report 2023-24. Recommendation: That Cabinet agrees to publication of the Child Poverty Action Plan Progress Report 2023-24 provided at Appendix 1 and its submission to the Scottish Government. 1 Executive Summary 1.1 North Ayrshire currently has the second highest rates of child poverty in Scotland at 29.2%. This means that over 7,000 of our children, young people and their families may be struggling to access everyday essentials including food, clothing and transport. These figures are the most recent available and relate to 2022/23. 1.2 In June 2023, Cabinet approved our Child Poverty Plan 2023-26, a joint plan with our partners. Key actions from this plan are led by our Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board. The Child Poverty Action Plan Progress Report 2023-24 at Appendix 1 is the first annual update on activity. 1.3 Under the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017, we have a statutory duty to jointly publish a local child poverty action report with NHS Ayrshire and Arran. The report needs to meet particular criteria, including how we are seeking to reduce child poverty and describe any income maximisation measures taken to support particularly vulnerable groups. Under the legislation the report must be published as soon as reasonably practicable following year end. 1.4 The vulnerable groups are known as the six priority family groups and are outlined in the Scottish Child Poverty Action Plan 2022-26 “Best Start, Bright Futures”. They are: • Lone parents • Families with three or more children • Families where the youngest child is under 1 year old • Mothers aged under 25 years • Households with someone with a disability • Minority ethnic families
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1.5 We continue to focus our resources on targeting these six priority groups and measuring the impact of our interventions. The report at Appendix 1 sets out activities undertaken by the Council and partners during 2023/24 to tackle child poverty and the areas of focus for 2024/25 for approval for publication and submission to the Scottish Government. 2 Background 2.1 Addressing child poverty is an extremely complex and challenging issue. It is essential that we work with our partners in the public, private and third sectors and directly with our communities to create interventions that are informed by experience and delivered in trusted spaces with dignity. 2.2 Our Child Poverty Action Plan 2023-26 was therefore developed by the Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board and is based on lived experience captured through a series of mini-enquiries with communities. The resulting activities are co-designed and delivered with partners and communities across North Ayrshire. 2.3 Our Council Plan’s vision is ‘a North Ayrshire that is fair for all’. Within the ‘Wellbeing’ priority particularly we look to address child poverty, though, due to the complexity, activity is included across all four priorities. In addition, Community Wealth Building is woven throughout our Council Plan to help support a sustainable path out of poverty for our residents. 2.4 This Child Poverty Progress Report at Appendix 1 contains progress on activities undertaken across our services and partners. This has been captured through the Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board including a partners’ workshop in March 2024. 2.5 Public Health Scotland in partnership with the Improvement Service provided feedback on all local authority child poverty plans published in 2023. This feedback has been used to help shape our reporting approach for 2023-24. Overall feedback on our activity and report was positive, with Public Health Scotland particularly interested in the Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board approach. 2.6 The report covers a large range of activities progressed to address child poverty in North Ayrshire during 2023/24. These are focused on the three main drivers of poverty – income from employment, cost of living and income from social security and benefits in kind. Some of the key activities include: • During 2023/24 our Money Matters Team supported residents to access £20,081,590 in financial gains from 5,739 referrals. • The Child Poverty and Early Intervention Fund has allocated: o £50,000 to support our No Wrong Door initiative. In addition, we secured £78k from Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund to progress work on North Ayrshire’s Single Shared Assessment (NASSA) project. This will improve access to services and support a whole system approach to addressing residents’ needs.
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o £61,322 to remove school meal debt. o £50,000 to explore initiatives to support travel for training and employment. This includes an innovative pilot to support parents who cannot afford driving lessons to help them into employment. o £50,000 committed to the provision of computer equipment for our communities to tackle digital exclusion. o £20,000 to explore sustainable childcare provision (following a mini- enquiry in 2023). o £20,000 for our targeted Active Schools programme, removing barriers to access. • To date over 7,000 households have engaged with energy advice and c.£600k has been disbursed through Emergency Support payments for households struggling with high utility bills as part of the Council’s Energy Smart programme. • Led by the Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board, our Council and our partners including NHS Ayrshire and Arran and our Third Sector are working very closely to share resources and co-deliver services. For example, through delivery of the Multiply Project with CHAP, community food provision, our “Step Into” employability programmes and various poverty related Community Investment Fund projects. • 130 families are benefiting from increased household income as a parent has been supported into employment by our services. • Real lived experience remains at the heart of policy and activities. A Parent Group has been established in Employability and a Champion’s Board network of over 30 care experienced young people has been developed. This is in addition to established approaches such as our Joint Cabinet (attended by 110 young people). • Active Schools’ extracurricular clubs are free of charge across all school settings, supporting over 9,000 young people across the last year to be active. • Cabinet approved the extension of our free school meals. This will provide a healthy mid-morning snack for all primary school children and availability of ambient food on a temporary basis during 2024/25. This links to the next phase of national expansion of free school meals to those in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment in 2025. • 20,037 young people have a valid Young Scot National Entitlement Card (NEC) in North Ayrshire. This represents 90% of the estimated population of 11 to 25 year-olds in the area. • An interactive map showing all food with dignity sites in North Ayrshire has been established to better direct residents to support.
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• We continue to actively work to process claims as quickly as possible. As at February, £1,301,497 had been provided through Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants, a total of 4,642 awards. 2.7 The key areas of focus for 2024/25 include the following: • We will carry out a self-assessment exercise during 2024-25 to further develop our Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board approach. • We will continue the development of our No Wrong Door approach, working with our partners and communities to ensure our residents are able to access the support they need as effectively as possible. • We will progress our Financial Inclusion Strategy to more effectively support our residents across services and partners. • We will further improve our data gathering on the six priority families to better target our resources. • Working in partnership with NHS Ayrshire and Arran we will develop an Infant Food Poverty care pathway in North Ayrshire which will include a process for the safe provision of infant formula in emergency situations. • We will continue to develop the Community Planning Partnership website as a hub for community information. • We will continue to explore the potential for a community transport pathfinder following ongoing survey work and a Transport Needs Analysis. • We will continue to develop our work on improving out of school care provision. 2.8 There is still a great deal of work to progress in order to address child poverty in North Ayrshire. Our central focus remains on working with our partners and communities to ensure our residents’ experiences inform our approach, we can learn from each activity and then further improve outcomes to ensure North Ayrshire is fair for all. 3 Proposals 3.1 That Cabinet agrees to publication of the Child Poverty Action Plan Progress Report 2023-24 provided at Appendix 1 and its submission to the Scottish Government.
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4 Implications / Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 There are no financial implications arising directly from this report. Human Resources 4.2 There are no human resource implications arising directly from this report. Legal 4.3 This report meets our statutory obligations under the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 The activity outlined within the Progress Report at Appendix 1 actively seeks to improve the socio-economic outcomes for North Ayrshire residents. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 There are no climate change or carbon implications arising from this report. Key Priorities 4.6 The Child Poverty Action Plan Progress Report 2023-24 directly demonstrates activity that contributes to our four Council Plan priorities. Community Wealth Building 4.7 A range of activity was undertaken with partners during 2023-24, as outlined in the report at Appendix 1, which contributed to our Community Wealth Building approach in particular the ‘fair employment’ pillar. Consultation 4.8 Members of the Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board including NHS Ayrshire and Arran, TACT, Arran CVS and the HSCP contributed to the content of this report. Aileen Craig Head of Service (Democratic) For further information please contact Isla Hardy, Senior Manager (Policy, Performance and Democracy), on 01294 324035 or email IslaHardy@north- ayrshire.gov.uk.
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Child Poverty Ac�on Plan Progress Report 2023-24 Appendix 1
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 1 of 27 Contents Welcome .............................................................................................................................................................. 2 The Key Drivers of Child Poverty...................................................................................................................... 3 Progress so far ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 Overall Ac�vi�es .............................................................................................................................................. 4 Overall Next Steps ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Income from Employment – Key ac�vi�es ...................................................................................................... 6 Income From Employment – Next Steps ......................................................................................................... 8 Case Study – Step Into Admin ......................................................................................................................... 9 Case Study – Step into Customer Service ...................................................................................................... 10 Reducing the Cost of Living – Key ac�vi�es ................................................................................................... 11 Reducing the Cost of Living – Next Steps ...................................................................................................... 16 Case Study – Winter Warmer Breakfast ........................................................................................................ 17 Income from Social Security and Benefits in Kind – Key Ac�vi�es ................................................................ 18 Income from Social Security and Benefits in Kind – Next Steps .................................................................... 21 Case Study – School Welfare Rights Officers ................................................................................................. 22 Case Study – Community Investment Fund ................................................................................................... 23 Summary of Performance .................................................................................................................................. 25 Our Key Ac�ons: Progress Status .................................................................................................................. 25 Na�onally Sourced Indicators ........................................................................................................................ 26 Locally Sourced Indicators ............................................................................................................................. 27
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 2 of 27 Welcome Welcome to our progress report for 2023-24. Currently, North Ayrshire has the second highest percentage of children living in poverty across local authori�es in Scotland. This report outlines how we are working with our partners together to find sustainable routes out of poverty for our children and their families. We will explain the main ac�vi�es we are undertaking to address child poverty as set out in our Child Poverty Ac�on Plan 2023-26. Data released by End Child Poverty in June 2023 shows 29.2% of our children in North Ayrshire lived in poverty during 2022-23 (most recent figures available). This means over 7,000 of our children, young people and their families may be struggling every day to access essen�als such as food, sanitary products, clothing and transport - limi�ng their ability to live to their full poten�al. The impact this can have on the health and wellbeing of our young people and their families is both immediate and longer term. Strong leadership to address child poverty is essen�al and we have developed a robust governance framework to ensure a clear direc�on. The Leader of our Council chairs the Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board. The aim of the board is to coordinate and where possible direct ac�on across our Council, Health and Social Care Partnership, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, third sector partners and our communi�es. Our Execu�ve Directors for our Council’s Communi�es and Housing Directorate and our Educa�on Service are strategic leads for cost of living and child poverty respec�vely – though ac�vi�es and responsibili�es stretch far beyond these directorates and across our partners. Together this shows how addressing child poverty is being driven at the most senior level across partners. This commitment can be found in Our Council Plan 2023-28, which has addressing child poverty and embracing community wealth building at its core. The aim remains “A North Ayrshire that is fair for all“ with our mission “to improve the lives of our people in North Ayrshire”. The NHS Ayrshire and Arran (NHSAA) Delivery Plan 2023-26 recognises the challenges faced through inequali�es “par�cularly as a result of poverty”. It recognises the need to work together to support health and wellbeing, while suppor�ng the wider economic benefits for our communi�es. Addi�onally, NHS Ayrshire and Arran is one of nine anchor ins�tu�ons who contribute to our Community Wealth Building Commission, led by our Council. Our ac�vi�es are shared throughout our other strategic documents, including the Community Wealth Building strategy men�oned above, Children’s Services Plan, The Promise, Children’s Rights, Educa�on Service Improvement Plan 2023-26 and our Community Learning and Development Plan. It is essen�al that our residents can clearly see what work is being done to address child poverty and scru�nise our ac�vity. As a result, this report is writen for our residents in what we hope is an engaging and accessible format. Rather than detail every opera�onal ac�on in a list, progress can be read through the “Progress So Far” sec�on of this report and no objec�ve or ac�on can be viewed in isola�on. A summary of the status of each of our key ac�ons and performance indicators can be found in the final pages of this report. We hope you are reassured by the progress we are making. Child poverty in North Ayrshire is one of the largest and most complex challenges we face and we are aware there is more to do. However, through listening to our residents and working together with our communi�es and other partners, we really will achieve a North Ayrshire that is fair for all. If you require help with the cost of living, please visit our dedicated Cost of Living webpage or call 01294 310000.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 3 of 27 The Key Drivers of Child Poverty As stated in the Sco�sh Child Poverty Ac�on Plan 2022-26 “Best Start, Bright Futures” the three main drivers of child poverty are income from employment, costs of living and income from social security and benefits in kind. This report examines how each of these areas is being addressed in North Ayrshire. Due to the complexity of the issues faced, it is common for the areas to overlap. As a result, a holis�c or ‘360 degree’ approach is required to make a true sustainable impact for the benefit of our young people in North Ayrshire. The six priority groups / families outlined in the Sco�sh Child Poverty Ac�on Plan 2022-26 “Best Start, Bright Futures” are: • Lone parents. • Families with three or more children. • Families where the youngest child is under 1 year old. • Mothers aged under 25 years. • Households with someone with a disability. • Minority ethnic families. We are working to improve how we are measuring progress and targe�ng these specific families across our Council, NHSAA and other partners.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 4 of 27 Progress so far Overall Ac�vi�es Our North Ayrshire Tackling Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board is chaired by the Leader of our Council. Members of the board responsible for delivery in their areas include North Ayrshire Council’s Execu�ve Directors from Educa�on, Communi�es and Housing and Place Directorates; Health and Social Care Partnership; North Ayrshire’s Third Sector Interface; and NHSAA. The Board administers the £1.2m Child Poverty and Early Interven�on Fund. The following funding has been allocated to date: • £61,322 to remove school meal debt. • £50,000 commited to the provision of computer equipment for our communi�es to tackle digital exclusion. • £20,000 to explore sustainable childcare provision (following our mini enquiry in May 2023). • £50,000 to explore ini�a�ves to support travel for training and employment. • £20,000 for our targeted Ac�ve Schools programme, removing barriers to access. • £50,000 to support our No Wrong Door ini�a�ve. In addi�on, the Board secured £78k from Sco�sh Government’s Child Poverty Prac�ce Accelerator Fund to progress work on North Ayrshire’s Single Shared Assessment (NASSA) project. Our Council Plan 2023-28 Our Council Plan 2023-28 was approved by Council in June 2023 and priori�ses suppor�ng wellbeing and community democracy (addressing child poverty and suppor�ng children's rights). Our young people were consulted to help us co-design the Council Plan priori�es during its development. Performance is captured in our six monthly magazine style reports published on our website. The priori�es all interlink and are displayed in the diagram below. Our Council Plan 2023-28 Priori�es
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 5 of 27 Council approved trea�ng care experienced as a protected characteris�c in March 2023, with the defini�on approved by Council in December 2023. As a result, the care experienced characteris�c was included within our Equality and Children's Rights Impact Assessments for the 2024-25 budget. The par�cular challenges faced by care experienced people will be taken into account with any policy decisions including budget decisions. Sco�sh Atainment Challenge The Educa�on Service maintains a focus on closing the poverty-related atainment gap and enhancing educa�onal achievement for all students. This is evidenced by individual establishment improvement plans, the Educa�on Service's standards and quality report, and service plan. Schools have been implemen�ng various ini�a�ves and interven�ons using the Pupil Equity Fund, while local authority support through the Sco�sh Atainment Challenge has been streamlined. Ac�vi�es include reviewing the Family Learning Team due to funding reduc�ons and developing a new model for delivering professional learning support via the Professional Learning Academy. Ini�al feedback suggests that the new Professional Learning Academy model is posi�vely impac�ng the closure of the poverty-related atainment gap. The Promise We have developed the Corporate Paren�ng Steering Group, chaired by an Elected Member and atended by Heads of Service and Senior Managers from across the Community Planning Partnership. This group meets once every three months. We have also developed a Promise Opera�onal Group (PrOG) that meets every two months. It is chaired by a Head of Service and atended by frontline managers from across the Health and Social Care Partnership. It is developed to explore how we can improve: data; language and communica�on; alterna�ve care; and rela�onships. We have established a Champions Board network of over 30 care experienced young people to give further opportuni�es for their voice to be heard including in regard to their care and policies that affect them. Overall Next Steps • We will review and develop our Equality and Children’s Rights Impact Assessments including refreshing training for Council employees on the UNCRC. • We will con�nue to develop the Community Planning Partnership website as a hub for community informa�on. • We will further improve our data gathering on the six priority families to beter target our resources. • We will carry out a self assessment to further develop our Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 6 of 27 Income from Employment – Key ac�vi�es Helping People Into Employment The Council’s Employability service has con�nued to engage and support individuals. We work in partnership with key stakeholders and the Local Employability Partnership (LEP) to improve outcomes and enable people to progress into sustainable employment. In 2023/24, the service registered 660 new parents who are developing skills, confidence and resilience to secure and sustain employment in the future. During this period 80 parents have secured paid work experience through placements in third sector organisa�ons and the Council. In addi�on, 50 have progressed into employment. In summary, 130 more families are benefi�ng from increased household income due to a parent gaining employment. The 660 parents supported during 2023/24 can be directly linked to the six family groups (see chart below): Our Employability service has established a Parent Group to ensure lived experience is considered in employability policy. This group is available for other services to access to ensure ac�vity truly meets the needs of our families. Access to employment as well as training and school ac�vi�es can be very dependent on access to transport, par�cularly within rural areas such as parts of North Ayrshire. The Child Poverty and Early Interven�on Fund has enabled a pilot that will provide driving lessons to 10 parents in order to pass their driving tests. They currently hold provisional driving licenses but have no means to pay for lessons. Work con�nues as part of our Regional Economic Strategy to deliver the priority of ‘Fair Work’. This will ensure individuals from across South, East and North Ayrshire will have an effec�ve voice, opportunity, security, fulfilment and respect within their workplace. Our Council’s Modern Appren�ceship Programme is available for young people aged 16 to 24 years. We reserve 20% of places for applicants with a disability or who are care experienced. During 2023/24 we exceeded this target showing a commitment to our young people who are facing extra challenges. From the 36 Modern Appren�ces recruited, 10 (27%) either had a disability or are care experienced. This is supported by partners including NHSAA. Skills For Life placements within our Council help unemployed parents gain training and experience through employment. During 2023-24, 70 parents began their Skills For Life programme and plans are being developed to create new opportuni�es. The NHSAA Employability Advisory service con�nues to iden�fy opportuni�es for Modern Appren�ce placements. NHSAA currently has one Modern Appren�ce working in administra�on in Public Health, nine employed in pharmacy technician
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 7 of 27 appren�ceships and 13 dental nurse appren�ceships. The NHSAA Employability Advisory service links in with a disability subgroup of the LEP and has offered applica�on and interview support through this group. To support parents to progress to or improve employment NHSAA par�cipates in “Step into Business” project as part of the “We Work For Families” programme (see case study below). Our third sector partner The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT) is con�nuing to deliver the Posi�ve Steps with Partners Project. The project helps residents who are long term unemployed gain confidence and skills through a series of pre-placement ac�vi�es and ul�mately enter employment. We are focussing more on suppor�ng pre- employment training to prepare residents to be able to compete effec�vely for roles. For example, as part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), our Council has secured funding to work with our partners CHAP to deliver the Mul�ply Project. Launched in May 2023, the ini�a�ve supports our residents to use maths and numeracy in their daily lives, both at home and in work. This helps with many areas from everyday tasks such as budge�ng, through to gaining qualifica�ons. Building Capacity The Whole Family Wellbeing Fund is aligned to the na�onal Child Poverty strategy, as well as other Sco�sh Government policy. Our Partnership with Dads Rock as part of our Whole Family Wellbeing Fund ensures a Dad’s Support Worker will work with fathers of early years children to build confidence and empower them to be posi�ve, ac�ve role models for their children. This is in turn expected to lead to improved employability opportuni�es. Our statutory North Ayrshire Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service (NADARS) has employed addi�onal Recovery Development Workers, posts created specifically to support residents who are in recovery from addic�on.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 8 of 27 The North Ayrshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) is working alongside partners at Turning Point Scotland (TPS), our Council, Department of Work and Pensions and Ayrshire College to develop a course for people in recovery in North Ayrshire. The proposed programme is based on a similar model successfully implemented in South Ayrshire which will give people the opportunity to work towards a qualifica�on, undertake meaningful volunteering opportuni�es and develop skills that will help them get closer to employment. Funding opportuni�es are being explored and if successful this will be rolled out in 2024. The ADP con�nues to work alongside partners at TPS, Café Solace and others to develop community-based volunteering opportuni�es for people in recovery. NHSAA’s Employability Advisor is in discussion with the LEP regarding opportuni�es for work placements. Volunteering opportuni�es with NHSAA are being explored. In the coming year NHSAA will inves�gate poten�al opportuni�es for working with organisa�ons to iden�fy further opportuni�es and support for people in recovery. The Police Scotland Youth Volunteering scheme in North Ayrshire builds life skills, enhances confidence and provides a suppor�ve pla�orm for our young people to develop. It seeks to support care experienced young people and within North Ayrshire there are 27 members. Our volunteers were involved with events such as the Marymass Fes�val in Irvine where they supported the police in looking a�er and repor�ng lost property and helped at various poppy appeals. Income From Employment – Next Steps • Progress the regional Fair Employment workstream ac�on plan. • Support school leavers and their families to secure posi�ve and sustained des�na�ons, for example through the Youth Guarantee. • Support the delivery of the Council’s Modern Appren�ce Programme, including young people with a disability and those who are care experienced. • Support access to employment in families where disability is a factor. • Support parents to progress into or improve their employment. • Develop mentoring within the Posi�ve Steps with Partners Project employability project. • Con�nue crea�ng jobs through community benefit clauses issues within procurement exercises and encourage fair work prac�ces including payment of the Real Living Wage. • Address issues surrounding school aged and rural childcare to support educa�on and employment. • Improve employment outcomes for parents specifically within the priority family groups. • We will con�nue to explore the poten�al for a community transport pathfinder following ongoing survey work and a Transport Needs Analysis.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 9 of 27 Case Study – Step Into Admin The ‘We Work for Families’ programme is a Council-funded service in Ardrossan, suppor�ng parents into work by offering help with housing maters, u�lity bills, access to food bank vouchers and developing CVs. Sam joined We Work for Families to help build her confidence and find work. She is a single parent to her son and has disabili�es that restrict the type of work she can do. In addi�on, when Sam joined the programme she was grieving following a bereavement. Sam has a caring nature, is always looking for ways to help people and has volunteered extensively. This has included providing support to young people who have suffered abuse. It was clear that Sam was very interested in returning to work, par�cularly working in an environment that would support others in any way possible. As part of the We Work for Families programme, which includes areas such as the Step Into Business and Step into Customer Service op�ons, the Step into Admin pilot which supports applicants into administra�ve posts, was ideal for Sam as it gave her the opportunity to access the third sector who directly support many of our residents. Not only was Sam keen to get involved, it enabled her to gain qualifica�ons at college which increased her confidence immensely. Sam was interviewed for a post and was successful in gaining a part �me posi�on with our third sector partners Community Housing Advocacy Project (CHAP). Sam had only been in the posi�on for a short period when she was offered a full-�me role which she was delighted to do. Sam has developed in her work and enjoyed every aspect of it, gaining knowledge and experience too. As the end date for Sam’s placement approached, she was offered a contract extension for a further six months, proving that she is a valued member of the team. Sam has now gained her SVQ and is excited about what her future holds.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 10 of 27 Case Study – Step into Customer Service Kateryna from Ukraine, is a mother-of-two who is currently working as an administra�ve assistant at a local solicitors and estate agents in Saltcoats. In Ukraine, Kateryna worked in HR and recruitment. When she moved to Scotland she was keen to upskill and find work that beter aligned to her children’s school hours. She registered with We Work for Families and was offered a Beter Off calcula�on. Beter Off calcula�ons explain the various benefits people are en�tled to and how these could change when they start working. Through the Council’s ‘Your Next Move, Working North Ayrshire’ programme, an opportunity arose for Kateryna to join the Step Into Customer Service ini�a�ve. She has now completed various training courses including customer service, health and safety in the workplace and confidence building. Since January, she has been working 20 hours per week and would highly recommend that parents looking for a way back into the workplace contact the Your Next Move, Working North Ayrshire team. She said: “I contacted the Council’s employability team to get help to find a job. I would say to other people, don’t be afraid to make the call because you will get a very warm welcome. It could help change your life.” To access support as detailed in these case studies, please contact our Employability Service. Email employability@north-ayrshire.gov.uk or call 01294 310000.
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Page 11 of 27 Reducing the Cost of Living – Key ac�vi�es Fuel Poverty To help address fuel poverty the Council’s Energy Smart programme provides a range of support to assist vulnerable families and children by installing energy efficiency measures and providing advice and support. This includes a crisis payment of up to £500 to vulnerable households to help with the cost of u�li�es. Over 7,000 households have engaged with energy advice to date. The programme will further support delivery of an an�cipated £1.6million for the installa�on of energy measures, with this element of the programme due to launch imminently. The Council has also worked with a local business, Green Home Systems, as part of our Community Wealth Building approach to lever in na�onal funding as part of an innova�ve approach. The Sustainability Team con�nue to respond to public enquiries on domes�c energy efficiency and u�lise the Local Energy Advice Forum (LEAF) partnership for referrals to internal and external agencies. Our Energy Awareness Officer also engages with local primary schools, delivers energy lessons and supports ECO School groups. We also con�nue to raise awareness of energy use and climate change through social media. Through the Financial Inclusion Partnership a sub group met during 2023 to discuss availability of energy grants and payments for vulnerable famililes with high energy costs, for example, where a child has a disability which necessitates use of essential electrical equipment. This group identified a number of grant and payment opportunities and the eligibility criteria, these will be further discussed and promoted via the Financial Inclusion partnership and NHSAA. Energy advice and support is available on our Council website. Cost of the School Day (COSD) Our Ac�ve Schools team has made progress in the following areas towards the priority of reducing household costs. Many of these areas are supported through the Child Poverty and Early Interven�on Fund: • Extracurricular clubs are free of charge across all school se�ngs, suppor�ng over 9,000 young people across the last year to be ac�ve during extra-curricular �me. • A total of 24 holiday programme opportuni�es were available, free of charge for targeted young people. • We provided 47 free experien�al ac�vi�es for targeted young people across North Ayrshire. • We have looked to remove barriers for targeted young people across North Ayrshire to access sport and physical ac�vity opportuni�es. Iden�fied barriers can include transport, access, cost, food provision and clothing. • We provide individual support for young people to access community club provision by removing barriers such as membership costs, clothing and equipment. Addi�onally, SportScotland provided funds to enable young people coaching for those most in need and this enhances what Ac�ve Schools can offer. Ac�ve Schools has one part �me member of staff dedicated to suppor�ng our young people with addi�onal support needs (ASN). The key priority for Ac�ve Schools is reducing the cost of the school day and making sure our service is equitable for our ASN pupils. Our Educa�on Service alongside our Community Learning and Development team has taken a sustainable, whole systems approach to sustainably reduce or eliminate costs rela�ng to the school day. This has included: • Issuing a clear statement to ensure no gi�s for teachers or staff. North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 12 of 27 • Considering alterna�ves to monetary dona�ons and dress down days for fundraising/charity days in schools. • Ensuring there is no requirement for uniform branding. • Recycled school uniforms are available in schools. • Breakfast clubs and a�erschool clubs are offered at no cost to families by u�lising Pupil Equity Funding (PEF). • Healthy snacks and holiday meals are freely available to pupils. (See ‘Winter Warmer case study below.) • We have explored our Council’s Procurement Framework to assist with providing access to affordable uniforms and clothing op�ons. • We subsidise blazers for Senior Phase pupils. • We provide all S1 pupils with a school �e. • We provide branded school bags, water botles and sta�onery to reduce costs. In addi�on, there is a £150,000 recurring investment to extend our school and community food network across all schools to support our children and families. We are u�lising £100,000 in recurring investment for a School and Family Par�cipatory Funding Investment Fund. This is specifically for educa�onal establishments to respond to local needs in rela�on to school uniforms, outdoor clothing, sports kit and the recycling and reuse of equipment. These approaches have been designed in collabora�on with our young people. Our Youth Forums and Joint Cabinet (which includes 110 of our young people discussing issues in partnership with our Elected Members) have been central to iden�fying and shaping our approaches. Engagement with our young people is essen�al, with a view of “nothing about us without us”. For example, our Youth Par�cipatory Budge�ng process involves our young people’s applica�ons being reviewed by their peers to ensure they really are mee�ng their needs.
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Page 13 of 27 Planning con�nues for the further roll out of universal free school meals to Primary 6 and 7 pupils. This includes reviewing employee resources, kitchen capacity, equipment and capital work requirements. The first phase of the capital work has been completed and the second phase is planned for summer 2024. Three dining hall extensions are planned for future years. In March 2024, Cabinet approved the extension of our free school meals programme. This will provide a healthy mid- morning snack for all primary school children and availability of ambient food on a temporary basis during 2024/25 un�l the next phase of the na�onal expansion of universal free school meals to those eligible for the Sco�sh Child Payment (expected in February 2025). National universal expansion is expected February 2026. Ac�vi�es Our innova�ve approach to the delivery of our leisure service means we use physical ac�vity to support public health, address and manage health condi�ons, engage with communi�es, and reduce inequali�es. Our provider, KA Leisure, has offered free swimming and ska�ng during the holiday period to babies and young people aged up to 17 years. This was supported by funding from our Council. Our Informa�on and Culture Teams are delivering the Out and About Project in the Garnock Valley suppor�ng vulnerable families to access the outdoors, discovering new spaces and ac�vi�es at no extra cost. We established the Council’s first Lend and Mend Hub in Kilbirnie Library. It enables free access to equipment to repair, reuse, and upcycle everyday items. Between September and March 28 workshops had taken place at the Lend and Mend Hub and 27 items had been saved from landfill through upcycling and repairs. Not only is this addressing the cost of living, it supports our Sustainable North Ayrshire Strategy 2024-27. North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Childcare We are working with partners to support childcare providers to deliver school aged childcare. “Wrap around care” for school aged children is in a fragile situa�on as it has had to react to changes in work paterns and demand. £20,000 has been allocated by the Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board to support developing sustainable childcare in North Ayrshire. Transport We are suppor�ng the rollout of the free na�onal en�tlement for transport for young people aged from 11 to 25 years. 20,037 young people have a valid Young Scot Na�onal En�tlement Card (NEC) in North Ayrshire. This represents 90% of the es�mated popula�on of 11 to 25 year-olds in the area. This includes a bulk issue of 1,718 NECs for our Primary 7 pupils in September. Our Community Transport Study is con�nuing with our communi�es and partners to determine the level of need for a community transport ini�a�ve within North Ayrshire. We have improved knowledge about sustainable transport choices by con�nuing to promote them through the Trinity Ac�ve Travel Hub and working with workplaces, organisa�ons and volunteers to provide ac�ve travel ac�vi�es across the area. We have also helped people develop more posi�ve a�tudes towards sustainable transport choices by con�nuing with workplace engagement including crea�on of travel plans and bike maintenance classes. MCR Pathways Mentoring Programme Mentoring programmes have been introduced in a further two secondary schools meaning that all eight mainland secondary schools now have access to this provision. It is designed specifically to support posi�ve outcomes for care experienced learners through regular mentoring with volunteer adult mentors from the local business community. These programmes have been evaluated highly by
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 14 of 27 care experienced learners at our recent Care Experienced Joint Cabinet Live event. MCR Pathways is a na�onal ini�a�ve that provides mentoring for our young people. Our Council has been involved in the programme since 2019. Mentors have a range of experience across different aspects of life and volunteer to be matched with a young person based on their interests, poten�al career and personali�es and support our young people on an ongoing basis. Food with Dignity We have launched an interac�ve map (see below) to show available food with dignity opportuni�es in our locali�es. So far it has received over 106,370 views. The icons represent different food providers such as food larders, community shops and emergency food provision. Contact informa�on is available by clicking on each icon. This service supports the North Ayrshire Fairer Food Network (90% volunteer led). In addi�on: • A WhatsApp group has been established to manage food waste. • Christmas Meal in a Box was created for those in need of addi�onal support. • Emergency U�lity Support can now be issued from Community Larders. • Community Benefits within our procurement contracts are directly linked to Larders. • 100,000 rolls are regularly issued to support breakfasts. • Dona�ons of baby food and pet food are placed in free baskets in larders. • Strong links are established with our Customer Services team to direct support. • Financial support for larders is established based on foo�all. • Following the launch of our 15th mainland larder at Largs Library in February, a loca�on for a larder on the Isle of Cumbrae has been iden�fied. Overall the support offered is intended to be holis�c, so a range of op�ons are available to reflect the range of different needs in our communi�es. Holiday Meals Teams across our Council worked in partnership with KA Leisure and community associa�ons to deliver a holiday meal and ac�vity programme. This was targeted at those en�tled to free school meals over the summer holiday period. 11,740 meals were delivered across 23 sites over four weeks. Public Health and NHSAA promote holiday meals as part of holiday hunger campaigns.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 15 of 27 Community Directory We have launched the new Community Directory which provides communi�es with access to informa�on about services in their locality, for example money advice, energy costs as well as ac�vi�es for health and wellbeing. The directory has been developed using open data and it enables Council services, community groups and partners to take ownership of the data. Residents can look for services by locality, postcode and within a 15-minute walk or drive from their home. The Directory was so� launched at our Community Planning Partnership Conference at the end of February and we are working to officially launch the new directory with our communi�es and partners. Cost of Pregnancy The Cost of Pregnancy Group created an ac�on plan from the recommenda�ons in the Cost of Pregnancy Report. These ac�ons are being taken forward and a report will be presented to the Women and Children Diagnos�c Governance Group and the Infant, Children and Young People’s Programme Board. Period Poverty Ini�a�ve Our Council is further developing the provision of free period products across our schools and communi�es by targe�ng youth events. Our mobile youth bus has been provided with regular supplies of period products, including re-useable products that are promoted at key climate campaign dates throughout the year. NHS Ayrshire and Arran provide free period products across hospital and clinic sites. Communi�es Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund The Communi�es Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund is being delivered by our community partners directly to communi�es to fund locally designed solu�ons to address child poverty. So far £1.8m has been distributed. The fund is due to conclude in June 2025, however applica�ons to the Council’s Child Poverty and Early Interven�on Fund are being considered to enable to support con�nued provision. The annual report on the delivery fund including impact is being finalised at �me of wri�ng. Our Educa�on Service has delivered a range of professional learning opportuni�es and our employees involved now feel confident to support both posi�ve mental wellbeing and emo�onal distress. An example of our developments is our Building on Posi�ve Rela�onships parent programme, which has been further rolled out with 30 addi�onal staff members trained. 25 families have benefited from the programme with a posi�ve impact on family rela�onships being reported. Public Health sit on the review groups for alloca�on of the fund including the Children and Young People’s group. Young Parents’ Group Our Council is pilo�ng a Young Parents’ Group for parents aged 25 years and under. This is taking place in the Three Towns area, funded by the Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund. The group covers wellbeing and life skills. Youth Services work alongside the Livelong Learning Team to help increase parents’ skills. The groups support develop posi�ve rela�onships between the young parents and their toddlers, including through ac�vi�es such as baby yoga. Health visitors helped publicise the groups. Though six weeks into the programme at �me of wri�ng, we are due to do a full evalua�on in the coming weeks. We are already looking to extend this through June, develop a second pilot in Irvine and ul�mately within other locali�es too. We have iden�fied a further need for parents aged from 25 to 30 years and are exploring this. Overall our Community Learning and Development teams are recognised as making
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 16 of 27 a significant posi�ve impact on our communi�es in terms of inclusion and reducing barriers, as evidenced in a recent HMIE report. Whole Family Wellbeing Fund The Whole Family Wellbeing Fund (WFWF) is aligned to the na�onal Child Poverty strategy, as well as other Sco�sh Government policy areas. The expansion of Early Years Social Workers within North Ayrshire will increase capacity to help support families who are struggling financially. In addi�on, the Family Centred Wellbeing Service and wider investment in neurodevelopmental ac�vity in North Ayrshire will offer holis�c support which may see some families able to access appropriate benefits following diagnosis of a child's condi�on. Reducing the Cost of Living – Next Steps • We will con�nue holiday food provision. • We will con�nue consulta�on and engagement on child poverty, to ensure our policies and approaches are informed by lived experience. • We will con�nue to prepare for the rollout of universal free school meals in 2026 and any required provision prior to this date. • We will roll out the next phase of our Energy Smart programme to include installa�on of physical measues, while con�nuing our ECO Flex partnership. • We will look to increase the number of organisations working with our young people registered on the NHS Community Benefits Portal. • We will carry out more work to iden�fy how best to increase the update of the Young Pa�ent Family Fund. • We will review out of school care provision. • We will explore the Lend and Mend approach and enhance public libraries to improve the quality of study spaces to assist with study and learning out with school �mes. • We will con�nue to address food with dignity opportuni�es in our locali�es. • We will specifically include ac�ons to address child poverty when refreshing our there year Community Learning Development Plan. This will be presented to Cabinet and the Sco�sh Government in October 2024. • We will explore a funding model for schools to enable our young people to access Duke of Edinburgh Awards by u�lising the Outdoor Budget for par�cipa�on and equipment. • We will work collabora�vely across our schools to use Pupil Equity Funding to close the poverty related atainment gap. • We will develop an Infant Food Poverty care pathway in North Ayrshire which will include a process for the safe provision of infant formula in emergency situa�ons.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 17 of 27 Case Study – Winter Warmer Breakfast The second year of our Winter Warmer Breakfast ini�a�ve has ensured up to 1,000 pupils daily are accessing free food with dignity and has resulted in many being able to afford a more substan�al lunch�me meal. In December 2022, our Council commenced a new temporary service u�lising the Cost of the School Day funding. This offered a free breakfast to all secondary school pupils and our young people at Lockhart Campus, our school for our children and young people with addi�onal support needs. Working across Facili�es Management and our Educa�on Service, we developed a model to ensure access for all pupils. A mix of hot and cold items were on offer and in an easy ‘grab and go’ style to allow pupils to pick items and eat where they chose. This ensured the provision of food didn’t impact on exis�ng friendship groups. This service was well received, par�cularly during the colder winter months and as a result, we ran the programme during 2023/2024. The funding for the second year came from the service’s own budget. We learned from the first year so we could work more efficiently and ensure we provided an atrac�ve and filling offer to the pupils. This second year of provision has seen a similar uptake across the schools with an average of 950- 1000 pupils accessing this free food service every day. A posi�ve consequence of this provision has been an increase in pupils eligible for free school meals, not using their credit at morning break. They are instead using their credit at lunch�me to access a full lunch. Hidden hunger is an issue in secondary schools as pupils are free to leave the school grounds at breaks and if they are not atending the school dining facility, it is difficult to iden�fy those in need. This service helps to address the issue of hidden hunger by offering dignified free food provision at breakfast that is flexible to support the social groups of our young people. The feedback to our catering teams has been extremely posi�ve and seeing the pupils accessing food free for all, with no s�gma atached has been extremely worthwhile. As a result, in March Cabinet agreed the extension of the Winter Warmer Breakfast ini�a�ve in secondary schools for winter 2024/25.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 18 of 27 Income from Social Security and Benefits in Kind – Key Ac�vi�es No Wrong Door No Wrong Door is an ini�a�ve to ensure our residents can always access the informa�on and support they need from our Council and Community Planning Partners. It is strongly supported by the Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board and key to our Council Plan and Digital Strategy 2023-28. It ensures people are at the centre of innova�on and no-one is le� behind to prevent digital exclusion. There are two main elements to our No Wrong Door approach, ‘Corporate Referral’ and ‘Single Shared Assessment’. Our new Corporate Referral process is now live. It examined how our residents access services such as: • Digital access and skills • Benefits, welfare rights, debt, and money budge�ng support • Employment advice and support • Homelessness advice and support • Housing rent advice and support (for North Ayrshire Tenants) • Health and wellbeing support Services needed to rely on our residents to contact the various services and the services themselves didn’t have visibility of other teams our residents were involved with. As a result of the review, our residents only need to provide their informa�on once and will be directly routed to the services that best meet their needs. In addi�on, services are immediately aware when a request for support is received. This is achieved through an online form on our website. This form is also used by our Customer Services team when residents call or visit our offices, so those without internet access are not digitally excluded and s�ll receive the same high level of support. Following the no�fica�on, services contact the resident to complete an assessment of their needs. At this point, decisions are made as to which services or external partners would be best to support them, such as Financial Inclusion, Employability, Housing and others. These services or partners then contact the resident directly, reducing cost and the poten�ally overwhelming task for residents to contact a list of services and partners. In addi�on, as the informa�on is at this point already known to our Council, it reduces the need for some of our most vulnerable residents to re-explain poten�ally complex and distressing circumstances. Accessible from the Council and Health and Social Care Partnership websites, the process is used by our Customer Services team to route referrals efficiently. Our health and wellbeing support can also direct individuals to their GP prac�ce and provide direct links to community supports on the Cost-of-Living webpage. Our emerging Single Shared Assessment approach will inform decision making and provide residents with assistance more quickly through a whole system approach offering immediate and longer-term support to li� people out of the cycle of poverty. This will be achieved by asking residents at the point of applica�on for their consent to use their details to assess eligibility for all benefits, grants and support available across our Council in one applica�on. This ul�mately will create a ‘golden record’ to proac�vely help residents access the support they are en�tled to. The approach aligns to a ‘tell us once’ approach and avoids the need to access informa�on retrospec�vely or complete numerous applica�on forms. Implementa�on of a Single Shared Assessment form will also enable us to target earlier interven�on with a specific focus on the six priority groups.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 19 of 27 The approach complements exis�ng ‘self-help’ benefits analysis tools available. Currently we are analysing the data we have about how our residents contact our Council to further organise our support. We were fortunate to be successful in our applica�on for Sco�sh Government Child Poverty Accelerator Funding to support this approach. Review of Financial Inclusion We have developed our new North Ayrshire Financial Inclusion Strategy 2023-28, intended to provide access to effec�ve financial advice and products. It will support people to build their financial resilience and confidence in managing their money and dealing with financial difficul�es. During 2023/24 our Money Maters Team supported residents to access £20,081,590 in financial gains from 5,739 referrals. Public Health are con�nuing to develop their child poverty and financial inclusion workshops for employees. Training was delivered to 15 paediatric nurses and one senior orthop�st in 2023/24. Training now includes a video where someone with lived experience provides their experiences and is being promoted for the coming year. Customer Services Our Customer Services team con�nues to ensure familes are supported financially via the administra�on of benefits including the Sco�sh Welfare Fund, Educa�on Maintenance Allowance, Free School Meals, School Clothing Grants, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduc�on, Discre�onary Housing Payments and Energy Support Crisis Payment. The processes for these are as seamless as possible for the resident to apply and where possible, automa�on is in place. The team is working closely to develop the No Wrong Door approach (above). We ensure benefits and grants are processed as quickly as possible to prevent families from being in financial crisis and alleviate any pressures.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 20 of 27 As at February, £1,301,497 had been spent through Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants out of a total budget of £1,577,601 (which includes a Council contribu�on of £237,000). From this, 3,150 Crisis Grants and 1,492 Communty Care Grants and have been awarded. The scale of need is challenging with the available resources and we are ac�vely managing the type and amount of support we can provide. Islands Emergency Crisis Funding Our Informa�on and Culture team supported the delivery of the £57,000 Islands Emergency Crisis Funding from Sco�sh Goverment. Cost of Living Reports Six monthly Cost of Living Reports have been presented to Cabinet for considera�on. These outline key ini�a�ves designed to reduce the cost of living for our residents and associated progress. Health and Financial Reviews Our HSCP Universal Early Years team has maintained a strong partnership with We Work for Families, having referred 34 families for employability support in the period April- November. Health visitors have supported a further 25 families to maximise their income through referrals to Money Maters, Lemon Aid, CHAP and Home Energy Scotland. Financial inclusion and income maximisa�on is embedded as part of health assessments conducted by our Health Visitors as part of the Universal Health Visi�ng Pathway. This is closely monitored to ensure it is maintained, with data recorded on whether a family has been signposted or a family has been referred. During 2023/24 the integrated Univeral Early Years service (Health Visitor support workers, Family Nurturers, Perinatal Wellbeing Team, Early Years Social Workers, Infant Feeding Support Team and Dads Support Worker) received 846 Requests for Assistance (RFA). When support concludes, either planned or unplanned, prac��oners are asked to complete an update form which is returned to the Named Person Service for processing. This form looks at outcomes as well as whether the family falls within one of the six priority groups. Of the 846 RFAs, 357 were completed during 2023/24 of which: • 37.8% has a child under one year old (135 RFAs). • 13.2% had three or more children (47 RFAs). • 2.5% had a disability within the household (9 RFAs). • 1.96% were Black Minority Ethnic (7 RFAs). • 17.1% were lone parents (61 RFAs). • 4.5% were young parents (16 RFAs). (Please note this was changed this from young mothers due to the focus on young parents from a Family Nurse Partnership perspec�ve.) • 38 requests for assistance were for children in households with more than one priority group. The team has also collected informa�on on the 132 RFAs where support was not completed due to issues such as engagement. This data can be used to inform future approaches. Public Health has examined the Cost of Health protec�on and improving processes for those who need to isolate due to illness and and who will lose earnings. In addi�on, Money Maters informa�on (our financial advice service) is displayed in all hospitals including Ayrshire Central, Arran and Millport. These are situated in key high foo�all areas such as li�s, stairwells and within outpa�ent clinic wai�ng areas. The Rosemount Project and Family Centred Wellbeing Service are proac�ve in signpos�ng and/or making referrals to Money Maters to ensure that families maximise all the support they are en�tled to. They also liaise with Money Maters to support appeals if access to benefits such as the Sco�sh Welfare Fund or
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 21 of 27 Child/Adult Disability Payment is refused. The Rosemount Project is a crisis interven�on and intensive support service designed to prevent children and young people from being accommodated. The service provides immediate support to vulnerable children, young people, families and carers who are assessed as high level of need and risk. We worked with the Paediatrics Team to develop new posters to promote the Young Pa�ent family Fund. These have been shared with the Ayrshire Maternity Unit and displayed in numerous public loca�ons. The Nursery Nurses are wellbeing champions and available to help families complete paperwork. Housing Our Housing Alloca�on Policy is currently under review. Consulta�on has taken place with applicants and residents in North Ayrshire to capture lived experience and ensure there are no nega�ve impacts on child poverty. Our Council's temporary accommoda�on is dispersed accommoda�on within the community. We have early interven�ons to avoid homelessness where possible and if it does occur, we will ensure financial support is in place so that temporary accommoda�on is only used in the short term. Income from Social Security and Benefits in Kind – Next Steps • We will con�nue to progress the No Wrong Door ini�a�ve, with a par�cular focus on the Single Shared Assessment to maximise the levels and speed of support. • We will progress the Financial Inclusion Strategy 2023-28. • We will monitor and improve the uptake of the Young Pa�ents Fund. NHSAA’s Public Health Department con�nues to work closely with Maternity services to improve the uptake. • Public Health will con�nue to develop their child poverty and financial inclusion workshops for staff. • We will explore Health Visitor access to crisis / emergency funding for families either in the form of vouchers or as a cash-first op�on. • 2024-25 will see the first full year of implementa�on for many of the funded WFWF projects. The fund is only available un�l March 2026 so the focus will be on sharing learning and considering how projects become sustainable at the end of the funding. • We will review our housing alloca�on to access larger housing for larger families and address overcrowding.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 22 of 27 Case Study – School Welfare Rights Officers School Welfare Rights Officers provide confiden�al advice and assistance to parents and carers to enable them to access all benefits they are en�tled to. They also offer advice when circumstances change, provide support to challenge any sanc�ons and offer representa�on at appeals. Through being based in schools it is hoped any s�gma is lessened and parents and carers feel more confident in approaching officers for assistance as it is a trusted space. Key results from our current School Welfare Rights Officer show an impact is being made. 106 referrals to our Money Maters team resulted in: £560,509 in financial gains for secondary school parents during 2023/24. An average of £5,387 per referral. £1,067,328 gained by secondary school parents since the project began. In addi�on to schools, we partner with the Food Bank and have a Welfare Rights Officer funded by the Trussell Trust taking referrals from all Food Banks and having drop-in surgeries as required. We also have advisers in GP surgeries, Addic�on Services, Jus�ce Service, and Children and Families Teams and get regular referrals to our services such as Financial Inclusion. Next Steps As at 2023/24 we have one Welfare Rights Officer based in our Secondary schools, with funding met by the Educa�on Service and the Financial Inclusion Partnership (HSCP). In February 2024 as part of the budget discussions, Council agreed to fund £160k for School Welfare Rights Officers. The agreed funding will enable recruitment of an addi�onal two Welfare Rights Officers for two years, extending the current programme. It is intended that the school clusters will be placed into three sec�ons with one Welfare Rights Officer in each. This will keep the links between Early Years, Primary and Secondary, meaning that if a family has children of various ages, the family is s�ll supported by the same officer. Performance management of the School Welfare Rights Officers emphasises wellbeing as well as financial improvement. As a result, case studies will be used to manage performance in addi�on to quan�ta�ve informa�on. Baselines will be taken to be able to show improvement. With the addi�onal funding we aim to replicate this across our schools. All three School Welfare Officers will be in posi�on a�er the summer to help support our families during the 2024/25 academic year. What am I en�tled to as an unpaid carer? I’m aged 17 and my mum’s asked me to leave my family home. I’m staying with a close friend, and I don’t have any access to funds. My husband passed away, I work, I need to find out what help I'm en�tled to. What are the grants and financial rights that my children are en�tled to? I have two girls in the academy and a baby girl. I just wanted to drop a wee email to say thank you so much for all the assistance in finding what we were entitled to... …The gain isn't just about finances (which is a wonderful help and a huge weight off my mind) …. (I) no longer stress and panic over trying to cover school holidays, sick days etc. I am much happier and less stressed as I'm here fully for all three children now which has made the kids all feel happier. The service you offer is wonderful and I'm very grateful to have been offered your assistance.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 23 of 27 Case Study – Community Investment Fund Our Community Investment Fund (CIF) enables community groups from each of our six locali�es to apply for funding for projects that will benefit our communi�es. Many of these projects directly address the causes and/or impact of child poverty. Children 1st Children 1st is a registered charity suppor�ng vulnerable children and families, with a focus on preven�on, protec�on, recovery and resilience. Children 1st Family Wellbeing is based in Bourtreehill, Irvine, North Ayrshire and has been established since 2018. The Family Wellbeing Service is based in the heart of the community, where local families can discuss what concerns them, seek solu�ons, access specialist support, such as money advice and intensive family support for whole families from skilled people. Through their current work across Irvine, engagement at the Irvine Locality Network Mee�ngs and discussions at the Bourtreehill and Broomlands Locality Chit Chats, local people iden�fied their need for a community-based Family Wellbeing Worker and a Community and Family Engagement worker. In November 2022 Cabinet awarded £97,580 for the recruitment of these posts. These posts supported the local community by offering: • Prac�cal and emo�onal trauma informed and recovery focused support to children and families who have experienced trauma and / or adversity in their lives. • A range of community lead ac�vi�es that focus on wellbeing, rela�onships and hope. These programmes included exis�ng partnerships with local services such as Ac�ve Schools, North Ayrshire Rangers and Ayrshire Wildlife Trust, to maximise opportuni�es for families to connect with outdoor, recrea�onal experiences and seek to develop new partnerships with other groups, organisa�ons and agencies in the area. • Blended Money Advice support to help whole families establish the root cause of money worries, maximise their income, help budget and avoid and manage debt, again with a real trauma sensi�ve and rela�onship-based approach. During 2023/24 Children 1st: • Reached 99 people through trauma informed whole family support – 53 children and 46 adults. • Reached 614 people through groupwork and events. • Families made posi�ve progress across all three Outcomes of wellbeing, community and rela�onships. • 50% of the families introduced themselves to our service by calling on their own or coming into our space to ask for help. • We supported local volunteers and community spaces including Towerlands Café, St John Ogilvie Church, Relief Parish Church and Bourteehill Park. The main four challenges that families told us they experience are: • Their children’s emo�onal wellbeing, rela�onships, paren�ng and their children’s educa�on. • Families feel they con�nue to face the same barrier accessing other services, in that they don’t meet “criteria”. I’ll be honest, I come to things for the children but stuff like this makes my anxiety sky high, you and the staff help me feel so comfortable. Because of support my Granddaughter has a better understanding of her rights. My Granddaughter now feels more content and able to talk more about her worries.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 24 of 27 These outcomes show that the CIF is ac�vely making a posi�ve difference to the lives of our people in North Ayrshire. Other CIF applica�ons granted recently include: CHAP Advice Outreach The Irvine Locality Partnership awarded the Community Housing Advocacy Project (CHAP) £91,534 to recruit two advice workers that are based within various community loca�ons throughout Irvine. Making their services accessible locally, in established and trusted environments, means that people will be able to gain assistance with a variety of benefits, housing and debt issues on their doorstep. BABCA Community Garden The Irvine Locality Partnership awarded the Bourtreehill and Broomlands Community Associa�on (BABCA) £12,777 to establish a community garden. The project will engage with a wide range of partners, centre users and community groups, as well as providing produce to support the Larder and the affordable café in the Centre, addressing issues of food poverty. It will also provide volunteering and learning opportuni�es for community members. The funding will be used to purchase equipment and materials for the garden. Turning Point - PEAR Service The Irvine Locality Partnership awarded Turning Point £96,112 to employ a Peer Led Prac��oner for two years (as well as associated costs for resources, room hire and na�onal support costs) to support the delivery of a college course by Ayrshire College for people in recovery from substance or alcohol use. This programme will support people to obtain an accredited qualifica�on which could lead to further educa�onal opportuni�es while also providing peer support. Micah Project The Irvine Locality Partnership awarded the Micah Project £50,000. The project for the Irvine locality will provide a storage base, coordinator, and delivery support within the town for two years to deliver a wellbeing package following a child’s vaccina�ons (3-6 months, 9-12 months, 2-3 years and 3-4 years). These age-appropriate toys, books, and resources will promote early childhood development and the packs will be another channel to signpost parents to support. Beith Community Association The Garnock Valley Locality Partnership awarded £22,098 to Beith Community Associa�on to contribute toward the employment of the Development Manager for one year and to employ a Project Assistant on a part-�me basis. This project will benefit all Garnock Valley residents, irrespec�ve of age, background or experience by providing opportuni�es and support, building confidence and developing skills for those disadvantaged due to unemployment, poverty, health issues or other factors. Getting Alongside Communities The Kilwinning Locality Partnership awarded £36,000 to the Corra Founda�on to support the overall running costs of their Ge�ng Alongside Communi�es project. Ge�ng Alongside Communi�es directly contributes to the Kilwinning Locality Priori�es of suppor�ng skills and work, allevia�ng poverty, and promo�ng equality of access to opportuni�es, improving community wellbeing, and building strong communi�es. Funding will support the project over the next three years.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 25 of 27 Summary of Performance Our Key Ac�ons: Progress Status We agreed three-year objec�ves/key ac�ons as part of our Tackling Child Poverty Strategy 2023-26. These key ac�ons are supported by opera�onal ac�vity directed by the Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board. The table below shows a summary of the status of our key ac�ons as at 31st March 2024. Green is on target (we are progressing as expected), amber is slightly adri� of target and red is significantly adri� of target. Key Ac�ons Status We will provide local leadership in addressing child poverty. We will have greater involvement of our residents, including children and young people, in service design and delivery. We will ensure our services are human and kind. We will commit to taking a No Wrong Door approach with partners. We will advocate for our residents in accessing resources and funding to address child poverty. Within the Community Planning Partnership, we will con�nue to take a system wide approach to child poverty within our Wellbeing priority and use our resources strategically to focus on beter outcomes. Across the Council, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, our Community Planning Partners and our third and voluntary sector partners in our communi�es, we will ensure our workforce planning enshrines a No Wrong Door approach to access to services and that poverty impact assessments are embedded in our policy and prac�ce. We will examine how economic development, transport, skills and childcare provision can combine to break down barriers to employment with parents as a priority group; ensure local economic prac�ces (Community Wealth Building) supports addressing child poverty; and complement key ac�ons. We will understand and address where possible the cost-of-living challenges that our families face. We will use data to inform place-based approaches to interven�ons and targeted use of resources to support wellness, families and parental employability. We will improve access to affordable childcare. We will encourage greater job quality through Fair Work. We will ensure accessibility to employment and services through support for priority families. We will maximise the update of benefits and support financial inclusion. We will drive further progress in removing financial barriers to educa�on through the Cost of the School Day ini�a�ve. We will improve whole family wellbeing outcomes, supported by the Sco�sh Government Whole Family Wellbeing Fund. We will beter link adult and children’s services to improve outcomes for families living in poverty. We will improve the use of data and performance measures in rela�on to what the local issues are and what ac�ons need to be taken around child poverty.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 26 of 27 Na�onally Sourced Indicators The following indicators provide context to the environment in which we are delivering services. Descrip�on 2020 2021 2022 2023 Percentage of working age popula�on in employment. 67.7% 64.7% 73.6% 70.3% Gross weekly earnings – Workforce based. 487.20 506.20 555.40 595.60 Employment rate Percentage (women). 63.4% 64.4% 71.9% 68.7% Employment rate work limi�ng disabled. 44.3% 44.7% 51.7% Data not yet available Youth employment rate. 55.3% 42.2% 66.1% 57.8% Percentage of households managing well financially. Data not available Data not available 47% Percentage of children in low-income families* 25.2% 20.9% 28.6% Percentage of employees (18+) earning less than the Living Wage. 15.9% 11.4% Data not available 10.4% Percentage of adults with a limi�ng long-term physical or mental health condi�on. 27.4% Data not available Data not available 30.1% Percentage of mothers aged under 19 years and under. 4.1% 3.1% 3.6% *Financial years (i.e. 2019/20 listed under 2020). Data not yet available Data not yet available Data not yet available
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 27 of 27 Locally Sourced Indicators We con�nue to work on developing locally sourced indicators, par�cularly rela�ng to the six priority families. We are also developing an opera�onal set of input measures which will ul�mately help demonstrate the impact of our interven�ons in the medium to longer term. The following indicators give an indica�on of how we are performing. Many of the indicators reflect Covid-19 lockdown periods between 2020-2022. Descrip�on 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Speed of processing Housing Benefit (New Claims) (days). 8.89 9.45 14.12 21.07 Speed of processing Housing Benefit (Change of Circumstances) (days). 7.59 9.24 14.12 12.41 Speed of Processing (Council Tax Reduc�on) new claims (days). 19.05 25.59 37.8 34.38 Speed of processing (Council Tax Reduc�on) changes of circumstances (days). 5.13 5.95 7.62 4.76 No. of Crisis Grants Paid. 3,539 2,460 3,605 3,436 Number of children receiving school clothing grants. - - 6,135 5,987 Number of families receiving school clothing grants. - - 3,864 3,943 Percentage of households in fuel poverty. 28% Data not yet available - - Percentage of new tenancies to applicants who were assessed as homeless sustained for more than a year. 92.48% 86.92% 88.38% 84.02% Number of new build housing units reaching comple�on (all tenures) (Actual not cumula�ve).* - - 562 384 Gross rent arrears (all tenants) as at 31 March each year as a percentage of rent due for the repor�ng year (LGBF). 5.5% 6.6% 7.1% 5.88% Percentage of respondents who say that food is available but too expensive. - - 53% Data not yet available *Indicator established in 2023/24.
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North Ayrshire Child Poverty Progress Report 2023-24 Page 28 of 27