A report published by the City of Edinburgh Council has revealed that between 2020 and 2023, 17 per cent of residents were living in poverty, including 20% of all children.
Produced by the council’s policy and sustainability committee, the End Poverty in Edinburgh report also revealed that almost £24 million was generated for Edinburgh’s low-income residents through the council’s money and welfare advice services in the past year.
It is the fourth annual report since the City of Edinburgh Council made a public commitment to take all local actions possible to end poverty in the city by 2030.
In line with national patterns, the report indicated that poverty rates remained relatively unchanged in recent years.
As part of the report, the committee outlined the framework required to meet its goal in time.
This framework includes increasing income from work and progression opportunities, maximising support for social safety nets, reducing the cost of living, and making it easier to find help.
As part of the first metric, the number of living wage accredited employers in Edinburg has more than doubled since 2019-20 while nearly 5,000 people have been supported into work and learning through council funded employability programmes.
Other success stories include the creation of a new family support project and the provision of homelessness prevention training to community centre staff and other workers.
The report paid particular attention to child poverty and highlighted the disparities in rate across the city, ranging from over 30 per cent in Leith to less than 10% in Morningside.
It also noted that women, ethnic minorities, minorities and those with a chronic health problem or disability are at a higher risk of destitution.
Reacting to the report, Labour Council leader Cammy Day said:
“We have shown that when we come together as a city, we can make a real difference. And this difference really can be life changing.”
He also called on the Scottish and UK governments to provide the support that the report calls on them to provide, warning that:
“Without additional urgent action, one in five children in this city – Scotland’s most affluent city – will continue to grow up in poverty.”
This includes removing UK-wide social security features like the two-child benefit cap, something that the Labour government has resisted doing.
The report also called for more funding from the Scottish Government to support the delivery of new social rented homes in Edinburgh, citing housing costs as a stark problem for the city’s poor.
Cllr Day also emphasised the importance of local action, stating that by working with local partners there is “ much more we can do”.
Photo by Mihály Köles on Unsplash