Councils can now apply for their share of £4.5 million to support the provision of after school and holiday clubs for Scotland’s most disadvantaged areas.
The funding will help improve both indoor and outdoor spaces in the school estate, with schools also encouraged to consider wider community needs.
First Minister Humza Yousaf set out details of the funding as he convened a national anti-poverty summit in Edinburgh yesterday.
The First Minister said: “Tackling poverty must be a shared priority for us all and this summit offers the opportunity to listen to a wide range of views to help us take the right action to drive down inequality across Scotland.
“Helping families deal with cost of living pressures is one of our key priorities and providing further funding for affordable and accessible school age childcare will help deliver that.
“Funded school age childcare supports parents and carers into work and enables them to support their families, while also providing a nurturing environment for children to take part in a wide range of activities.
“Scotland already has the most generous childcare offer anywhere in the UK. All three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds are entitled to 1,140 hours a year of funded early learning and childcare. We are working with partners to make further progress, with plans to develop a funded early learning and childcare offer for one and two-year-olds by 2026, focusing on those who need it most.”
The Scottish Government will provide a £4.5m recurring Capital Fund, managed and administered by Scottish Futures Trust, to deliver improvements to the school estate that will support the provision of before and after school and holiday clubs within Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities.
The intention is that the fund will be limited to the school estate (both indoor and outdoor spaces) for year one, but schools will be encouraged to consider wider community needs and spaces where children want to be after school or during the holidays, particularly where links or partnerships already exist.
The £4.5m fund will be open to all Local Authorities who will be required to demonstrate how they have worked in partnership with school age childcare and activities providers, to be ambitious in their ideas, and to define projects which will deliver benefit for children and families, particularly those from low-income areas.
Funded school age childcare is targeted at families on the lowest incomes, specifically the six priority family types identified in the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan (lone parent families, minority ethnic families, families with a disabled adult or child, families with a younger mother [under 25], families with a child under one, and larger families.)
Targeted action to further tackle poverty and inequality in Scotland will be the focus of discussion at a summit convened by the First Minister later this week.
The anti-poverty summit will bring people together from a variety of backgrounds – those with lived experience of poverty, the third sector, academics, campaigners, local government, business, and cross-party representatives of the Scottish Parliament.
Attendees will share expertise, experiences and ideas that can be used in a collective effort to drive progress and reduce inequality across Scotland.
The First Minister said: “Tackling poverty and protecting people from harm is one of the Scottish Government’s three key priorities.
“Working within our limited powers and fixed budget, the Scottish Government has already taken a range of actions that are making a real difference, with almost £3 billion allocated both last year and this year to support policies which are helping to tackle poverty and protect people as far as possible during the cost of living crisis.
“Our five family payments, including the Scottish Child Payment, could be worth more than £10,000 by the time an eligible child turns six. This compares to less than £2,000 for eligible families in England and Wales, with Scottish support providing over £20,000 by the time an eligible child is 16 years old.
“There is also much more to be done to reverse the impact of the UK Government’s policies of austerity and lack of concrete action on the cost of living crisis, which have contributed to rising poverty across the UK.
“While the Government’s actions and ideas to tackle poverty are extremely important, I also want to hear fresh ideas about what else we could be doing together. Nothing should be off the table, and I am ready to lead an honest and frank discussion on Wednesday.
“I firmly believe that all of us across society want Scotland to be the best place to grow up and the best place to live. I am determined to harness that shared ambition so we leave no stone unturned in the drive to create a more equal and more socially just Scotland.”
The summit will take place in Edinburgh on Wednesday 3 May.
First Minister Humzah Yousaf has announced additional support for general practices in most deprived areas.People living in some of Scotland’s most deprived communities will benefit from an additional £1 million of funding to help tackle health inequalities.
The Inclusion Health Action in General Practice programme provides targeted funding for support to patients whose social circumstances have a negative impact on their health.
The funding is allocated directly to practices which are in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board area and feature on the list of 100 most deprived practices in Scotland.
First Minister Humza Yousaf made the announcement as he visited the New Gorbals Health Centre in Glasgow.
The First Minister said: “General practice is at the heart of our communities and is uniquely placed to deliver the care and support needed by patients who experience health inequalities.
“Of the one hundred poorest practices in the whole of Scotland, shockingly 81 currently sit within the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board area – a statistic I am determined to change.
“This additional funding of £1 million will build on the foundations of previous funding. At a time when the cost of living crisis is widening health inequalities, this is an important step that supports our commitments to prevention and early intervention with patients at highest risk of poor health.”
Lorna Kelly, Chair of the Primary Care Health Inequalities Development Group said: “The NHS needs to be at its best where it is needed the most, or health inequalities will continue to worsen.
“This additional resource to general practices serving the most deprived communities in Scotland is therefore very welcome.”
The First Minister chaired the first meeting of his new Scottish Cabinet in Bute House yesterday, charging Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers to take a bold approach to delivering for Scotland.
Cabinet had a substantive discussion on the priorities of the government, ahead of the First Minister giving a planned statement to parliament immediately after recess. They had a further conversation around the budget that will underpin those priorities.
Friday’s discussion highlighted the importance of being an open, accessible government through engagement with the public and stakeholders and by reaching out to members of other parties in a genuine spirit of collaboration.
It also stressed the importance of building relationships with counterparts in other devolved administrations and the UK Government.
Cabinet members also reflected on their experiences in their previous ministerial portfolios and how that often brings useful perspective when taking on roles in different areas of government.
As always, a discussion on the immediate issues Cabinet members will be addressing in the coming weeks took place.
First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “I was pleased to welcome new and returning Cabinet members to our first meeting this morning. I was clear to them that I want Cabinet to be a forum for open and honest discussion.
“We all look forward to reaching out to stakeholders, the business community, opposition parties and the wider public in a spirit of genuine collaboration.
“This government has a strong track of taking forward ambitious and radical policies and reforms over the last few years, against a backdrop of austerity, economic uncertainty and of course the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Under my leadership the Ministerial team have been tasked with taking a bold approach to how we govern – not just in addressing the challenges facing the people of Scotland, but also maximising the opportunities of our many strengths.
“Our key priorities will include eradicating poverty and delivering a wellbeing economy underpinned by sustainable public services.
“I will set out more detail to parliament following Easter recess – but in the next couple of weeks, Cabinet members will be busy getting down to work on the immediate issues in their portfolios.”
Low-paid workers across the country will receive a pay increase this weekend as all rates of the National Minimum Wage rise.
The National Living Wage (NLW) increases on Saturday 1 April by 9.7 per cent to £10.42, providing a pay rise to millions of workers aged 23 and over across the UK. 21-22 year olds will see their pay increase by 10.9 per cent to £10.18 per hour while pay for younger workers and apprentices will also rise by 9.7 per cent.
NMW rate
Annual increase (£)
Annual increase (per cent)
National Living Wage (23+)
£10.42
0.92
9.7
21-22 Year Old Rate
£10.18
1.00
10.9
18-20 Year Old Rate
£7.49
0.66
9.7
16-17 Year Old Rate
£5.28
0.47
9.7
Apprentice Rate
£5.28
0.47
9.7
Accommodation Offset
£9.10
0.40
4.6
These increases follow recommendations made to the Government by the Low Pay Commission (LPC) in the autumn.
The NLW increase means another significant step towards reaching the Government’s target of two-thirds of median earnings by 2024. The increase is also expected to boost the real value of the NLW, restoring most of the real value lost since April 2021.
The LPC is now consulting on National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates for April 2024 and beyond and will make its recommendations to the Government in October.
The consultation will run from 23 March to 9 June 2023. For more information, including how to submit responses, click here.
Bryan Sanderson, Chair of the Low Pay Commission, said: “From April, millions of workers will benefit from these increases to the NMW and NLW. Despite turbulent economic conditions, the labour market has remained strong and unemployment is low.
“We remain confident that this increase is unlikely to have a detrimental impact. Indeed, the high levels of inflation are felt more acutely by those on low pay who spend a higher proportion of their income on energy and food.
“The new NLW rate keeps us on track to reach the Government’s target of two-thirds of median earnings by 2024. We estimate the NLW will need to rise next year to between £10.90 and £11.43 to meet this target. We also remain committed to lowering the NLW age threshold to 21 years of age in 2024.
“In our consultation this year we are also looking beyond 2024, and inviting evidence and views on the future of minimum wage policy once the two-thirds target is achieved. The NMW is a central feature of the UK labour market and workers and employers alike will want to contribute to the debate about its future.”
The LPC has published a short report which looks ahead at what the new rates will mean, and sets out an updated path of the NLW to its target of two-thirds of median hourly earnings by 2024.
Estimating the forward path of the NLW is very challenging as earnings growth is difficult to measure and predict in the current economic climate. Our central estimate of the on-course rate of the NLW for 2024 is £11.16, within a range of £10.90 to £11.43.
At this time (1950) a petition had been launched to collect signatures against the proliferatation of nuclear weapons. We in the union branch at the New Cross tram depot decided to set up a Peace Committee to collect signatures for the Stockholm Peace Appeal.
The Cold War was intensely pursued by the Western powers. Charlie CHaplin was thron out of America and Paul Robeson too.
We had a big meeting in Camberwell to support Paul Robeson, to which he sent a recorded message, but we were up against the full wight of an anti-communist media.
I even stood as one of three candidates for the Communist Party local elections in Debtford, as their proposals seemed at the time to best address the needs of ordinary working people. But this was at the time of the Yangtse incident, where the Chinese communists were fired on by a British warship and the McCarthy era in the United States was in full swing.
The Vauxhall Tram authorities gave permission for a stall to be set up for just one day in the garage – and we were successful in collecting over 900 signatures for the Stockholm Peace Appeal, which I delivered to their offices near Regent’s Park.
I would collect the Daily Worker newspaper before my shift and do leafletting after my shifts, early morning or late. The shifts were spaced such that it was impossible to go home in between shifts. They were long days away from home.
Over the seven years I was active in the Transport and General Workers Union we were always under pressure and the canteen was a hive of activity with the early morning sales of all kinds of newspapers. We had to prove we were selling all papers inside the garage and not just the Daily Worker – this we did from outside the garage!
Then we were banned from selling the paper when we had tram uniforms on. The attempts at control were relentless.
There were of course already some big improvements such as improved provision if social services and the formation of the National Health Service in 1948; it is hard today to imagine not having an NHS and having to pay to see a doctor.
I knew that improvements to the lives of ordinary working people would have to be fought for by ordinary people like me and the hundreds of thousands of people who were now finding ways of making progress through sound argument and political pressure.
This was the challenge of winning a better future for everyone and pursuing this has been my lifelong ambition.
Progress is never guaranteed and things are sometimes disappointing, but I have seen poverty, war and destructive chaos and I know that only through ordinary working people struggling together will the devastating evils of poverty and war be avoided in the future.
OVER the next few weeks there was a period of adjustment back into civilian and domestic life. My demob leave lasted until February 1947. Initially I spent most of the time with Helen an the family at home and making numerous visits to see relatives and friends, many of whom I had not seen in a long while.
All this was undertaken against the backdrop of one of the coldest winters on record, with freezing temperatures and snow that lasted for months.
Rationing was also quite extreme and there were shortages of almost everything. Coal was in very short supply and consequently so, too, was electricity. Food was scarce and making do was still very much the way most people were living day-to-day – but at least the fighting was over and we were grateful for our survival.
A feeling among many at this time was that winning the war against a repressive and brutal regime had been essential, although at an awful cost. But people now talked about ‘Winning the Peace’ and there was much to do.
In the mid-1930s I had started to think about the problems affecting working people and how to change things for the better. Why were there problems of unemployment poverty and hunger – and why were these problems not being solved?
Having served in the army for over five years it had given me, like so many other young men and women, opportunities to talk about these issues and develop a determination not to return to the bad times of the 1930s, but instead to work for a better world. Surely, now, in peacetime, things had to change?
In the future there should be no acceptance of unemployment or poverty, but a need to secure good working conditions, annual leave, sick pay and to tackle the many other issues that needed to be addressed.
One in seven people have skipped meals due to the rising cost of living, new Which? research finds, as the consumer champion calls on the government and essential businesses – such as energy companies, supermarkets and telecoms firms – to take action to help consumers.
According to the latest findings from Which?’s Consumer Insight Tracker, a worrying number of households are going without food and sitting in cold homes due to the rising cost of living.
One in seven (15%) said they had skipped meals – compared to one in eight (12%) in November. The new findings also showed nearly one in ten (9%) had prioritised meals for other family members above themselves and 4 per cent had used a food bank.
Jackie Rudd, aged 72 and from West Suffolk, has found that rising energy prices have left less room in her budget for grocery shopping. This has meant she is now skipping meals two to three times per week.
She said: “The last week of the month, meals are missed – if you have no money for a loaf then there’s no lunch and if there’s no milk, then there’s no breakfast. Basic groceries have gone up to stupid levels – the loaf of bread I usually buy has gotten smaller and more expensive.”
People are also looking for ways to save on their energy bills – with seven in ten (72%) saying they have put the heating on less due to rising prices, four in 10 (39%) using less hot water and one in five (19%) having had fewer cooked meals.
Concerningly, three in ten (29%) respondents who said they had put their heating on less said they have often or always felt physically uncomfortable this winter as a result.
One 85-year-old man said: “The house is cold due to the cost of heating, so I am continually wearing layer upon layer of clothes. Saving money on heating allows more money for food.”
A 30-year-old man said: “Our house is cold a lot of the time because the high costs of gas and electric makes a warm house unaffordable.”
Which?’s Consumer Insight Tracker also found that an estimated 2.3 million households said they missed or defaulted on a vital payment – such as a mortgage, rent, credit card or bill payment – in the last month. This is in line with the number who missed payments in January 2023, demonstrating that financial difficulty has remained high in early 2023.
Six in ten (59%) people made at least one financial adjustment – such as cutting back on essentials, selling items or dipping into savings – in the last month to cover essential spending. This equates to an estimated 16.5 million households.
This is a significant increase from the half (52%) making financial adjustments this time last year, but lower than the peak of two-thirds (65%) making adjustments in September 2022.
Which? is calling on the government and essential businesses to take action to support consumers with the rising cost of living and higher energy bills from next month.
With the main energy bill support scheme coming to an end and the energy price guarantee scheduled to jump to £3,000 for an average household in April, consumers will face higher bills from next month. The government must urgently consider postponing increasing the energy price guarantee to £3,000 to help those struggling to make ends meet.
The consumer champion is also calling on essential businesses – such as supermarkets, energy and telecom providers – to ensure that people have access to the best value products and services across the UK.
For example, supermarkets should increase availability of affordable and healthy own-brand budget ranges throughout their branches. Telecoms providers should cancel 2023 inflationary price hikes for financially vulnerable consumers – and allow all customers to leave without penalty when prices are hiked mid-contract.
Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said: “It’s hugely worrying that households across the country are forced to go hungry and sit in cold homes as they cannot afford basic essentials this winter.
“Which? is calling on the government and essential businesses to do more to support their customers through this extraordinary cost of living crisis.
“With energy bills due to rise in April, the government must urgently consider postponing its decision to increase the energy price guarantee to £3,000. For some families, who continue to be battered by high inflation, this will offer an important lifeline to stop them falling into financial distress.”
A new report published by Holyrood’s Cross Party Group on Poverty says that bias against people in poverty affects their mental health and wellbeing, makes it harder to access the support they are entitled to, lessens their educational chances and makes policies designed to tackle poverty less effective.
Group convener Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP said: “Scotland is a place that believes in compassion and justice, but people in poverty and on low incomes are having to face almost daily prejudice. That’s just not right, and it must stop.
“Poverty is caused by an unjust economy, and a social security system that doesn’t meet people’s needs. Our inquiry has found that the way people talk about poverty matters, and can have a clear impact on people on low incomes. That’s especially true when the people talking are politicians, in the media, or those delivering the public services that we all rely on.
“It’s time for everyone in Scotland to turn our back on these unjust attitudes and behaviours, and to call it out when they come across it. We’ll be a better, fairer, more just society as a result.”
Since January last year, the Group has been carrying out an inquiry into the stigma associated with poverty in Scotland today, hearing evidence from people with lived experience of living in poverty and on low incomes.
One disabled participant speaking to the Glasgow Disability Alliance said: “It can be difficult if you have a hidden impairment – people think there is nothing wrong with you or you are ‘at it’. My adviser at the Department for Work & Pensions actually said ‘This is not a disability’.”
One 15-year-old school pupil told the Child Poverty Action Group: “Well, I think if all of your friends or people you know go to the after-school clubs, school trips, that kind of isolates you from them. You’re singled out, you’re not with them, just a spare person.”
Another 12-year-old pupil said: “They talk behind your back [about what you wear] and stand staring at you.”
The Group heard evidence about the difficulties faced by parents on low incomes. The Child Poverty Action Group spoke to parents and caregivers heard about the ‘guilt, embarrassment and shame’ they are often made to feel about their financial situation.
Poverty Alliance director Peter Kelly said: “We all have a right to social support, and no-one should be made to feel ashamed for using it. We are recommending that more investment is made into making sure every household is able to get all the help they’re entitled to.”
The inquiry report highlights how involving people with experience of poverty can make public services better. The new Social Security Scotland agency was praised for its work to make sure staff know how important it is to treat people with dignity and respect.
The Group is calling for people who work with the public in Scotland to be trained about the reality of poverty, and for a strong stand against language and behaviour that stigmatises people on low incomes.
And the report also recommends making education about poverty part of Scotland’s national curriculum for schools, helping to project young people from its effects and giving them the tools and confidence to call it out and stand up against it.
Pam Duncan-Glancy said: “The submissions to this inquiry have highlighted that poverty-related stigma is extensive and deep-rooted in Scotland.
“It is impacting people’s mental health and wellbeing, erecting barriers to accessing support, restricting educational attainment, and influencing the design and resourcing of policies that can tackle poverty.
Across the UK, through the depths of winter and the Cost of Living Crisis, a movement has been born (writes DAVID BARCLAY).
It’s a quintessentially British kind of movement, powered by an army of volunteers, endless cups of tea and ordinary conversations. As millions of people in the sixth richest country in the world have found themselves unable to heat their own homes, thousands upon thousands of designated ‘Warm Welcome Spaces’ have emerged. And together they are changing the social landscape of our country.
The Warm Welcome campaign began last summer when senior faith leaders met with former prime minister Gordon Brown to discuss the growing Cost of Living Crisis and the increasingly dire outlook for low income households. In what was almost a throwaway comment, Gordon Brown mentioned that he’d heard of plans for ‘train station waiting room-style heated spaces’ for those unable to pay their energy bills. The room went quiet as the impact of that mental image sunk in. Every person left the meeting determined that something better had to be created.
Through conversations in the following days and weeks the concept of a ‘Warm Welcome Space’ emerged – somewhere that was free to enter, safe, warm and welcoming. Instead of being prescriptive beyond these basic elements, we decided to trust that local groups knew best what people in their community might need. We build a website, held an online launch event, and then watched in awe as first hundreds and then thousands of groups of every shape and size signed up and got involved – churches, mosques, gurdwaras, libraries, schools, community cafes and many many more.
For a significant number of these organisations, Warm Welcome has provided a brand and a banner under which to grow and expand their existing activities – extending hours, running new sessions, reaching new parts of the community.
For others it has been a catalyst to try something new – film nights, homework clubs, community meals. The collective impact of these Spaces has been enormous. One woman told the BBC that before she found her local Warm Welcome venue, the only way she could keep warm at home was by staying in bed all day.
Spaces are described by many who use them as a ‘lifeline’. But as well as providing a place of refuge for the cold and hungry, Warm Welcome Spaces have been hubs of community, helping people make connections and build friendships. In doing so they are creating the longer-term social support networks that can sustain people all-year round. They are also often providing the space for intergenerational contact and connection that is increasingly hard to find elsewhere.
For many of the Warm Welcome Spaces, the experience has been transformational for their own organisation too. Libraries have reinvented themselves as community hubs, attracting families and young people like never before and demonstrating beyond doubt their immense value to the social fabric of their place.
Many churches now have more people attending their Warm Welcome provision than coming along to their Sunday services, inspiring them to reimagine who they exist to serve and how.
The long-term prospects for Warm Welcome now are fascinating. As well as providing a unifying banner for Warm Spaces, the campaign has raised almost £300k to give out in £1000 microgrants targeted at Spaces in areas of highest deprivation. In doing this, it has created a unique vehicle for funders who want to invest in hyper-local leadership and resilience but at a significant scale.
The Government’s promise to develop a strategy for community spaces and relationships as part of its Levelling Up programme surely can’t fail to focus on what could be done with this now 7000-strong network which is supporting hundreds of thousands of people each week.
And imagine what a programme of work on energy efficiency for Warm Welcome buildings could do, creating huge environmental benefits on our national race to Net Zero whilst boosting the financial resilience of crucial local assets.
There are also the first signs of Warm Welcome providing a catalyst for systemic change. In Birmingham, Warm Welcome Spaces found a number of people were struggling with issues of damp and mould in their homes. So, they organised themselves to work with the Council, ensuring that all Spaces have access to a senior Council Director who can fast-track cases for a response.
This kind of organising for change is creating a blueprint for other Spaces to work together to listen to and act on the issues facing local people, ensuring that Warm Welcome can go beyond just a short-term practical response to our deep systemic challenges.
The campaign will change gears at the end of this winter, signposting those who want to carry on running activities to other sources of support. But with the Cost of Living Crisis not showing any signs of abating, preparations will begin immediately for a Warm Welcome campaign that is bigger and better next Winter, nurturing a movement which feels like it is just getting started.
The outlook for Britain may be bleak in many ways, but Warm Welcome shows that we still have plenty to be hopeful about. When faced with crisis and despair, the community response to the Cost of Living Crisis has been nothing short of heroic. Now it’s up to the rest of society to follow where local people are leading.
David Barclay is a Partner at Good Faith Partnership, which exists to connect leaders from faith, politics, business and charity on issues of common concern.
He has previously worked as community organiser at the Centre for Theology and Community on the Just Money campaign and founded the Buxton Leadership Programme. He was also previously President of the Oxford Student’s Union.
