SATURDAY 25th OCTOBER from 11am in EDINBURGH
On Sat 25 Oct, join us in Edinburgh as #WeDemandBetter!
Start: 11am at Scottish Parliament
March through the city
Rally at The Meadows for music, speeches, food & family fun!
Find out more:
EDINBURGH UNITES TO TACKLE POVERTY
The Council Leader and campaigners have come together to call for action to challenge the injustice of poverty in Scotland’s capital.
Staging an anti-poverty event this week (Wednesday 8 October), the End Poverty Edinburgh citizen group highlighted how around 80,000 people are living in relative poverty in Edinburgh.
The conference, held at the Grassmarket Community Project with people with lived experience of poverty, is part of Challenge Poverty Week 2025. Highlighting the need for poverty prevention and the injustice of poverty on marginalised communities, the event followed previous conferences held in 2023 and 2024.
In Edinburgh, a citywide commitment has been made to tackle poverty, which affects one in five children in the city. This includes accelerating the work of the End Poverty Edinburgh Action Plan – also tackling the city’s Housing Emergency and reviewing the way the council supports the third sector in Edinburgh.
A new preventative approach has been adopted with the aim of making it easier for people at risk of poverty to access support, while funding has been provided to Edinburgh’s new Regenerative Futures Fund, which will help local communities to lead poverty prevention and deliver change.
Caroline Cawley, a member of End Poverty Edinburgh, said: “This is our third annual conference, and we wanted to use this day as an opportunity to highlight the injustices facing marginalised groups, who are more likely to experience poverty in Scotland.
“Poverty and uncertainty for these groups is not getting better and many people are starting to lose hope. This is the worst thing to lose as hope is the last thing to go. As a group of Edinburgh residents with lived experience of poverty, we’ll continue to use Challenge Poverty Week to call for change and solutions, including greater poverty prevention in the city.”
Speaking at the event, Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “In Edinburgh around 80,000 residents are struggling to make ends meet, with one in five children living in relative poverty. We must continue to do everything in our power to end poverty in Edinburgh.
“I’m proud of the positive work which is already being done to combat the causes of inequality in the city, and this annual conference highlights the incredible efforts of our third sector, council officers, and city partners to make life better for thousands of people across the city. Without this progress, these statistics would be even more stark.
“We can’t address poverty alone and this Challenge Poverty Week, we’re uniting for change, highlighting the injustice of poverty in our communities.”
Peter Kelly of The Poverty Alliance said: “We’re very pleased that Edinburgh is marking this year’s Challenge Poverty Week. In a rich country like ours, poverty is an injustice that weakens us all as a society.
“But we can solve it. We can redesign our economy to make sure people have incomes that are adequate enough to live a life with freedom and dignity.”
The End Poverty Edinburgh Conference is the first of three major poverty events happening in Edinburgh this month. On 25 October, the Scotland Demands Better rally led by the Scottish Poverty Alliance will take place in Edinburgh.
Then, on 31 October, the Edinburgh Poverty Commission will host a public event to launch the publication of their most recent findings on the actions needed to end poverty in Edinburgh.
Meanwhile, during Challenge Poverty week, poverty stigma training is being rolled out to Council employees to increase awareness of poverty and to help people access the support they need.
A Council pop-up in Gilmerton Library is also offering information on benefits, building skills, money advice and links to the community food pantry in Gilmerton community centre.
Information for residents experiencing or at risk of poverty can also be found on the Council’s cost of living webpages
Challenge Poverty Week is an opportunity for you to raise your voice against poverty and unite with others in calling for a just and equal Scotland. Join our free online events to get you inspired.
On Thu 7 August our Policy team will take you through our policy asks as #WeDemandBetter ahead of CPW25.
This session is your chance to hear about our policy priorities, learn why they matter, and find out how you can get involved in using them to advocate for change!
On Thu 14 Aug at 10am, our free online training will help you take your first steps in getting the Challenge Poverty Week 2025 messages heard both locally and nationally.
Join the Poverty Alliance team as we go over some of the basics of how decision-making works in Scotland, and as we share simple ways to start building relationships with MSPs.
And on Thu 28 August join our Values First training on how best to place moral values at the heart of effective communications around Challenge Poverty Week.
An exciting new toolkit aimed at supporting workers and businesses within Scotland’s hospitality sector has been launched.
The Tourism and Hospitality toolkit is aimed at supporting the growth and success of Scotland’s hospitality sector by providing a one-stop shop with the tools and resources businesses and employees need to thrive.
The toolkit was created based on findings from Serving the Future, a three-year project by the University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute and The Poverty Alliance, which focused on addressing and preventing in-work poverty in the hospitality sector.
It has also been shaped by industry experts and key players such as Skills Development Scotland, Scotland’s Tourism & Hospitality Industry Leadership Group, and industry charity Springboard.
The toolkit will provide support to the sector on key areas such as training and development, achieving net zero, recruitment and retention, and fair work. Employees will be able to access information on their rights at work, education and training, visa sponsorship and immigration, and more links to support when working in hospitality.
Kelly Johnstone, Chief Operations Officer of Springboard said: “Our mission with this toolkit is to support the growth and success of Scotland’s hospitality sector so both employers and employees can thrive.
“The toolkit brings together expert advice and practical solutions into one accessible platform to help the hospitality industry excel.
“Case studies included in the toolkit from Serving the Future highlight good practice which is already happening in Scotland – we hope many more businesses and employees can benefit from accessing this information.”
Dr Laura Robertson, research manager at The Poverty Alliance, which is a partner in Serving the Future said: “We know that low-pay and job insecurity have a big impact on households in Scotland.
“We hope this toolkit will empower businesses and workers to strengthen fair work and living wages in the hospitality sector. Scotland has signed up to legal child poverty targets and we know that making positive change in the world of work can contribute to reaching them. We are excited to see how the toolkit does that.”
Chirsty McFadyen, economist at the Fraser of Allander Institute and lead investigator on Serving the Future said: “We feel very privileged as a research team to have been let into the hospitality industry with such a warm welcome.
“Few research projects have worked with both employers and employees to create sustainable solutions in the way that Serving the Future has.
“We are keen to continue building the relationships we’ve gained from this work, and we’re looking forward to seeing the industry’s reaction to the toolkit.”
The toolkit includes a feedback form so that that businesses and employees can reflect on the usefulness of the information available.
The team behind the website will be evaluating responses and adapting the content throughout 2025.
More than 14 million people in the United Kingdom (UK) are currently living in poverty, and the number of people experiencing deep poverty is increasing (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2024).
We worked with the Mental Health Foundation and researchers from the University of Strathclyde on this report, where we examine how experiences of poverty stigma are related to mental health outcomes in the UK.
Our aim was to understand the impact of poverty stigma and who is most affected in order to inform solutions.
You read it below, or download it from here.
It may have been a surprise election, and only been a six-week campaign, but for many people the ‘festival of democracy’ inspired little genuine enthusiasm (writes PTER KELLY, Chief Executive of The Poverty Alliance).
Perhaps this was because the outcome was so widely predicted and, in the end, seemed almost inevitable. More likely was that after years where many politicians were increasingly distrusted and political debates appeared disconnected from the realities of day-to-day life, the election held little interest for many.
Of course, the result was by no means guaranteed, no matter what the polls said. And if the result was not guaranteed, what comes next is still very much a subject for debate. What was clear from the result, though, is that the decline in trust in politics was very much in evidence at this election: turnout fell to 60%, the second lowest in more than 100 years.
But now that the votes have been cast, historic landside secured, MPs sworn in, and Ministers appointed, many of us who want to see progressive social and economic change are asking: now what?
Almost two weeks after the result, we are moving from the territory of ‘hot takes’ and instant analysis to a place where we can begin to see the emerging opportunities where progress could be made. The question for anti-poverty campaigners is how these opportunities can be turned into real change.
At a basic level, we need only look at the manifesto that the new Labour Government was elected upon to see what comes next and where the opportunities lie. In it we will find commitments that are to be welcomed.
For example, the package of change intended to improve the lives of working people, especially for those at the tough end of the labour market who get by on low pay and insecure contracts.
These are changes that reflect some of the priorities that we called for in our own election manifesto, especially around commitments to increasing the minimum wage and providing minimum working hours.
The Labour manifesto also contained a pledge to create a new child poverty strategy. One of the undoubted disappointments of the election campaign was the lack of discussion about poverty and inequality, particularly by both main UK political parties. At best the cost of living crisis was a proxy for discussions about poverty, but at no point was there any serious attempt to say how an incoming government would act to address the systemic failings at the heart of poverty.
Although commitments to labour market change and anti-poverty strategies are all very welcome, much of the detail on delivery remains unclear.
How, for example, will a child poverty strategy accommodate the current retention of the two-child limit? The reality is, of course, that any child poverty strategy must start with the scrapping of this policy, and then look to strengthen our social security system. The pressure building around the two-child limit in recent days is emblematic of the tensions that exist in the new Government’s current approach.
The new Prime Minister and Chancellor have been clear in this approach – economic growth is the central objective, the overriding mission, and at the same time public spending to be contained within the previous Conservative Government’s plans.
Neither of these commitments leave much immediate space for addressing poverty, despite the promise of a new strategic approach. As the IFS have said: ‘delivering genuine change will almost certainly also require putting actual resources on the table.’
It is this tension that the Government’s approach – a desire to address poverty but within current spending limits – that opens up a new space for anti-poverty campaigners. We must use the high-level commitments that have been made to deliver the substantive changes we know are needed.
This includes not only scrapping the two-child limit, but ending the benefit cap, stopping the five week wait for UC, introducing an Essentials Guarantee, and more. It also means seeking to shape debates about economic growth, highlighting that growth on its own will not solve poverty and that distribution and pre-distribution of resources needs to be part of the who our economy works for.
There are genuine opportunities to engage with the new UK Government, opportunities that have not existed for more than a decade. I’ve highlighted just a couple above, more will emerge in the months to come. For civil society organisations in Scotland and across the UK these opportunities to engage will be very welcome.
But it will be important for all of us seeking progressive change to remember what has been learned from engaging with Scottish Government’s over the last 25 years – access does not always equal influence. Simply having a meeting with a Minister, being invited onto an advisory group, responding to a consultation does not mean that demands will be translated into action. Of course, we need to engage in these discussions and activities, but we need to consider what else should be done to create change.
There is hope for change at the moment, but to turn that hope into action, to transform our demands into tangible, practical improvements in people’s lives, we need to be better organised across civil society.
We must do more to engage and raise the voices of the thousands of grassroots organisations and campaigners across Scotland and the UK that hold communities together. By raising these voices, by activating those who are in the frontline of the fight against poverty, we will create the necessary sense of urgency that is needed.
Our sector in Scotland involves more than 45,000 organisations, employing 135,000 people, with more than 1.1 million volunteers involved. We need to turn those numbers into an organised social movement, one that is broad based, inclusive and can make the demands the system change to both the Scottish and UK Governments.
At the Poverty Alliance we believe that there are real opportunities ahead of us to make change, but they will only be realised if we work together across civil society. Please join us to make these changes happen.
This election could be the most unequal in 60 years, with people on low incomes being shut out of our democracy.
The #VoteYourValues campaign gives our members access to tools that can help people in their communities get vote-ready.
In a democracy, everyone’s voice matters equally.
So it’s completely unjust that so many people on lower incomes get shut out from using their vote. This General Election looks set to be the most unequal for more than six decades, due to a ballooning turnout gap at elections and the growing role of money in British politics, according to a recent report from IPPR.
We can help change this.
In the run-up to July 4, we will be working with Citizens UK’s Voter Registration Champions scheme to raise awareness about how people can register to vote.
Poverty Alliance members can download PDF posters to put up in their centres, and an infographic that they can share on their social media networks.
Scotland’s largest trade union body has implored the Scottish Government to “step up for Scotland” as the STUC launches their 2023 tax report showing an extra £3.7 billion could be raised per year using Scotland’s existing powers.
The report: ‘Raising tax to deliver for Scotland’ demonstrates how changes to income and property taxes from April next year could raise an additional £1.1 billion for Scotland’s public services.
Longer term, the introduction of wealth taxes, replacing the council tax with a proportional property tax and introducing a super tax on private jets, amongst other measures, could raise an additional £2.6 billion per year for Scottish public finances.
The STUC claim the tax measures are progressive and would reduce both income and wealth inequality. The updated report follows a similar paper from the STUC last year, demonstrating the full powers of the Scottish Parliament to raise public revenue through progressive taxation. The report also contains detailed analysis of how the council tax could be replaced in a way that ensures low-income households don’t lose out.
The move comes as a direct response to Deputy First Minister Shona Robison’s warnings of public sector workforce cuts ahead of the Scottish budget this December.
If fully implemented the £3.7 billion raised could fund 82,000 public sector workers. STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer has implored government ministers to “rise to the challenge” of protecting public services and reducing inequality, as increased funding pressures on the Scottish Government continue as a result of the UK Government’s autumn statement.
Commenting, Ms Foyer said: “Our updated tax report makes clear that the Scottish Parliament has the power to make a real difference to our communities and raise over £3.7 billion of additional revenue for our public services.
“The Scottish Government must step up for Scotland. It’s clear that, with one foot out the electoral door, the Tories are hellbent on saddling any future UK Government with devastating public sector cuts.
“We can choose a different path. It’s within the powers of our parliament – through income, land and additional dwelling taxes – to raise an initial £1.1 billion from April next year. Coupled with longer-term wealth, property and aviation taxes, the Scottish Government can raise another £2.6 billion.
“At a time when workers are suffering the biggest drop in living standards since records began, and our public services need investment more than ever, it would be a chronic dereliction of duty for government ministers to sit back and let workers suffer Tory-inflicted austerity.
“They must rise to the challenge. For the sake of our workers, communities and public services, there is simply no other option.
THE ROBERTSON TRUST has announced that six organisations have been awarded over £1.7M under their Financial Security Programme Awards. All of the projects are working to deliver big change that lasts on tackling poverty and trauma in Scotland.
Through our Financial Security theme, we want to fund, support and influence to improve income adequacy, income security, reduce cost-related pressures on finances and improve financial safety nets for people in financial trouble.
We made an open call for long-term change project ideas through our Programme Awards in October 2022 for organisations focused on delivering big change that lasts on financial security in Scotland.
Our Programme Awards will allow us to work alongside some of the organisations best placed to achieve impact on poverty and trauma in Scotland, allowing us to learn from them and them from us as we go.
The successful organisations include proposals to develop strengthening social security in Scotland, reducing the costs of essential goods and services, and preventing and relieving financial crisis now and in the future in Scotland.
We are pleased to share details of the organisations awarded funding:
Commenting on the announcement of the new Programme Awards, Robertson Trust Head of Programmes and Practice, Russell Gunson, said: “I’m delighted to share the details of the Robertson Trust’s new programme awards today.
“Each of the awards we have made have demonstrated the potential to deliver big change that lasts on poverty and trauma in Scotland. We’re really excited to be working together to make the most of the potential for long-term change in Scotland.
“Our support comes at a time when people and places facing poverty are experiencing gale force winds against them and their living standards. We have been living through crisis after crisis, stretching back through this cost-of-living emergency, the Covid-19 pandemic and at least back to the financial crash 15 years ago.
“It is often hard to think long-term when the immediate challenges are so pressing but the Trust has protected significant funds for this long-term change work so that we can prevent poverty and trauma in the future, while also helping to make a difference here and now.
“We will only be successful if we commit to the belief that things can change – we’ve made progress before and we know we can again – if we build the participation, partnerships and coalitions necessary to make change irresistible, and if we build social change over the long-term to reshape the systems and structures that sit underneath why we have the levels of poverty, trauma and inequality that we do.
“We look forward to working with each of the projects and are keen to learn alongside them, to understand what helps and hinders in achieving our mutual ambition of ending poverty and trauma, and its negative impacts, in our society.”
Commenting on the announcement of the Programme Awards, David Reilly, Communities and Networks Manager at the Poverty Alliance said: “Rural poverty is an issue of growing concern for the Poverty Alliance.
“This important grant from Robertson Trust will not only allow us to test ideas to practically take action on rural poverty, but will also help us to strengthen the networks and relationships that we need to make long term progress on rural poverty.”
John Dickie, Director of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland said: “Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland is delighted to be awarded funding by The Robertson Trust. This grant provides us with a unique opportunity to help shape the way Scottish Child Payment and other local and national payments support those currently on the margins.
“It will enable us to bring our expertise together with the voice of lived experience to prevent poverty and increase families financial stability by helping create more inclusive, consistent and secure financial support through the social security system”.
Satwat Rehman, CEO of One Parent Families Scotland, said: “One Parent Families Scotland is delighted to receive this funding from The Robertson Trust. Child maintenance is an issue which single parents have raised with us time and again, calling for there to be a fairer and more equitable system.
“Four in ten children in poverty in Scotland live in a single parent family but maintenance payments can contribute to the costs of raising a child and in giving them a decent quality of life.
“However, over £474 million in child maintenance in the UK has gone unpaid – money owed to children. This is an issue of children’s rights and the rights of the child to financial support.
” Working alongside our amazing partners IPPR Scotland and Fife Gingerbread we will develop ways of supporting families through the maze that is the current child maintenance system and work with families to design a model that works for them and contributes to lifting children out of poverty. “
Claire Telfer, Head of Scotland, Save the Children said: “We are thrilled to have received The Robertson Trust grant for this exciting work.
“We believe this will be a game-changing project in the development of policy and actions to drive down child poverty and we can’t wait to get started”.
David Brownlee, the Trussell Trust’s Financial Inclusion Lead, Scotland, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with The Robertson Trust for this ambitious project. The Trussell Trust has just released its end of year stats, showing the highest levels of need ever in Scotland.
“The record levels of need seen this year, represents a 50% increase in the number of parcels distributed by food banks in the Trussell Trust network in Scotland compared to five years ago in 2017/18.
“The chronic cost of living crisis has only deepened our commitment to end the need for food banks in Scotland and the whole of the Trussell Trust network – this project will play a key part in enabling us to see how to achieve that aim.”
Emma Congreve, Deputy Director of Fraser of Allander Institute, said: “The Fraser of Allander are delighted to be collaborating with SCLD and embarking on this project to produce better evidence to underpin more effective policy for people with learning disabilities in Scotland, especially as this will enable us to recruit and support a researcher with lived experience which we would not have been able to do without this investment.”
News from THE POVERTY ALLIANCE
Our Living Wage Scotland team has had great success in encouraging 3,000 businesses in Scotland to become accredited Living Wage employers. Now the Living Wage Foundation is moving into a new area.
The Living Pension accreditation scheme was launched in Edinburgh on 21 March 2023. It is a voluntary savings target for employers and aims to help workers build up a pension pot that will provide enough income to meet basic everyday needs in retirement.
Research completed by the Resolution Foundation in 2022 showed that four in five workers, and 95% of low-paid workers, paying into defined contribution schemes are not saving at the level needed to reach an acceptable standard of living in retirement.
You can read more about Living Pensions here, and you can also sign up to a free webinar being hosted by the Living Wage Foundation on Tuesday 16 May 2023.
