Renfrewshire Council has been asked if it should “reassess” the priorities of an initiative aimed at tackling inequality against the backdrop of a rise in child poverty in the area.
Recent figures estimate approximately one in five children in the local authority are living in poverty – numbers that were branded “appalling” by an elected member at Wednesday’s leadership board.
While he acknowledged its “good work”, Councillor Graeme Clark questioned if the council should re-examine the focus of Fairer Renfrewshire – a programme seeking to tackle inequalities that exist across communities.
The initiative has funded a number of projects for low-income families, including free school breakfasts in specific areas, a mobile children’s library, advice services and a targeted programme of summer activities.
Councillor Clark, a Labour representative for Paisley Northeast and Ralston, said: “Despite the good work of Fairer Renfrewshire in recent years, child poverty in Renfrewshire continues to rise steadily.
“According to the 2023/24 draft child poverty local action report, around one in five children in Renfrewshire are living in poverty. This is estimated to be more than 7,000 children.
“Don’t such appalling numbers bring us to the place where we need to reassess what we are prioritising in Fairer Renfrewshire as we move ahead?”
Laura McIntyre, head of policy and partnerships, said there was a “need to review the programme to date” and look at how they target some of the resources that are available within it going forward.
She added: “Child poverty was absolutely one of the priorities that have been discussed with members.
“There have been community planning partnership level discussions around we see the figures continuing to increase despite the significant partnership work that’s been undertaken in relation to child poverty, so recognising there’s a real need to challenge some of the thinking in the way that we work with people across our communities to tackle the issue of child poverty.
“That’s one example but across the whole programme as we go forward we’re keen to look at what we have been working on with partners and what some of the priorities should be over the course of the remainder of the programme.”
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