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Have Your Say: East Lothian's Poverty Plan
Description
We are inviting you to shape East Lothian's Plan for tackling poverty over the next three years. We promise to listen to what you tell us and shape our activities based on your experiences. We will report back on how what you have said has shaped the plan.
East Lothian Partnership’s plan to tackle poverty focuses on 4 key outcomes that focus on getting more cash in people’s pockets, living in resilient communities that are ready for the future. This includes:
• Good jobs that pay fairly, where we support people to gain the skills and training needed to find and maintain work, in flexible jobs that pay fairly.
• Enough money from benefits, our social security system should provide people with a fair income, but millions of pounds go unclaimed each year. We will support people to claim the income that they are entitled to.
• Cost of living support, daily essentials can be a financial burden that drives people into poverty. We will provide advice and support to those who are struggling with high living costs.
• Climate change ready, climate change will impact vulnerable and low income communities the hardest. We will take preventative action to protect and support these communities.
Additional information
The way we will work will promote these outcomes.
• Making sure that poverty is everybody’s business, and that actions to tackle poverty are part of every service plan. We will make sure that those making budget decisions understand how poverty affects people in East Lothian.
• Working in a way that is stigma- and trauma-informed. We have heard very clearly that stigma is preventing people from reaching out for support. We will make sure that our services are approachable, discreet and offer dignity and choice. We will help our workforce understand the impact of trauma and poverty.
• Working effectively as a partnership, we will build on our existing strong partnership in East Lothian. We will share data, resources and knowledge more effectively, and work towards a collective vision for East Lothian.
This will be underpinned by specific improvements we need to make to our current ways of working. These include actions around our housing, transport, childcare, and economy. It will require changes in the ways we work with people with lived experience of poverty, how we evaluate our projects, share our data and shape our places. It will also shape how we deliver our services, communicate about our work, and advocate for East Lothian residents.
On behalf of Fa'side Area Partnership. There is a conversation about a 'cash first' approach to tackling the impacts of poverty. We understand the argument however, this has to be part of suite of options available for local households and not the only option. There are concerns that families who have members living in addiction, with ongoing domestic violence and power dynamics which mean that other members of the household don't have a say in how or what services they can access or use. So its important that we survey those households who use our services frequently to understand why and ensure that those other members of the households have their voices heard, particularly children (linked to UNCRC). There are a range of excellent initiatives underway such as the festive provisions that bring communities and households together in a dignified way, and in a manner which would costs way more if using a cash first approach.