Child Poverty Action Plan

Welfare benefits are in place to support low income families whether in, or out of work. However too many families are still not claiming what they are due. Research by Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) suggests that around half a million Scots are not claiming all the support they are entitled to.

We will increase low income families awareness and uptake of welfare benefits and entitlements.

• our midwives and health visitors will be talking to all families about their financial wellbeing and helping those interested to access the Money Matters Telephone Advice Line aimed at pregnant women and families with young children
• all four CABs (Citizen Advice Bureau) will be offering free financial health checks to low income families and they can also help families to complete their Universal Credit online application which some families find challenging
• welfare advice will be available in some health facilities and we will be looking at how we can link advice services to nurseries and schools
• we will automate access to entitlements for families where we can, such as families entitled to school clothing grants and free school meals no longer need to apply
• we will provide free internet access points in libraries and community facilities like Universal Connections to ensure families can make online applications for benefits such as Universal Credit and provide support to those who don’t have the skills or confidence to get online

Reduce living costs

Rising living costs pose a very significant challenge to many families. We know from our front line staff and volunteers that some families are having to make hard choices about how to make very limited household income stretch to cover all the costs of running a home and feeding and clothing their children.

We will do this by

• increasing the provision and uptake of funded early learning and childcare entitlement for two and three year olds
• reducing financial barriers to education for school age children
• reducing transport costs to school through offering targeted privileged school transport places for pupils entitled to free school meals
• increasing the uptake of free school meals through automated enrolment and additional activity to promote and encourage uptake with a focus on uptake in secondary schools
• increasing the level of school clothing grant to £130 per child and increase uptake through automated enrolment and additional activity to promote and encourage uptake.

Support affordable housing and prevent and reduce homelessness

We will do this by

• maintaining affordable rents for council homes (South Lanarkshire council rents are seventh lowest in Scotland)
• investing and delivering 300 new affordable houses, meeting higher energy efficiency standards that minimise fuel costs, and ensure this includes allocations to families with children and young people
• delivering regeneration projects to improve housing and built environment in priority areas such as Whitlawburn
• giving priority to those in need, including homeless households and those with urgent medical needs and disabled people when allocating available housing
• improving and increasing the provision of housing support for households to live independently within communities through programmes such as Breaking the Cycle and Shelter Families Project
• providing care experienced young people with additional support to help them to secure housing that meets their needs

Reduce families’ energy costs

South Lanarkshire has a good track record in terms of investment and partnership actions to reduce fuel poverty and has a significantly lower rate compared to Scotland.

We will

• target housing investment to improve energy efficiency of larger homes and reduce fuel costs for tenants
• provide and promote energy advice and support to low income families via community hubs, outreach via schools and as part of the financial wellbeing /welfare advice provision

Increase the financial wellbeing of families

We will

• promote saving and access to affordable borrowing through credit unions
• introduce Healthy Valley’s Resilient Family Programme in rural South Lanarkshire

Improve digital inclusion amongst families

We will

• improve internet broadband and mobile phone coverage
• provide and promote free digital/internet access and support to low income families in community facilities to enable job search, benefit applications and other money related services and saving opportunities
• undertake research to better understand families digital needs and barriers

Reduce food insecurity amongst families

We will

• increase the provision of lunch clubs during school holiday periods
• increase the provision of breakfast clubs for school children
• develop a food strategy for South Lanarkshire including partnership actions to tackle food insecurity

Improve support to families in financial crisis

We will reduce the proportion of refused applications for Scottish Welfare Fund support from families with children and increase the uptake of welfare benefits/money advice by those seeking crisis support, to find longer lasting solutions.

Reduce the costs of leisure and cultural experiences

We will

• take action to ensure that families on low incomes are able to benefit from the active schools programme
• increase the uptake of the South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture concession scheme (reduced costs) through increased promotion and awareness

Remove financial barriers to accessing sanitary protection

We will

• distribute free emergency sanitary products within toilets across a wide range of public/community buildings, schools and facilities in all localities of South Lanarkshire
• establish distribution points for free packaged sanitary products in a wide range of community settings