East and South Ayrshire councils insist they are at the frontline when it comes to tackling the cost-of-living crisis.
Over the last fortnight, there has been significant criticism of the UK Government over a lack of action to address rising energy prices.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been slammed for refusing to take measures after insisting it would be down to either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss to announce any moves after one of them is selected to lead the country on September.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked each council how much progress was being made in their approaches to the crisis.
South Ayrshire Council agreed to form a member-officer working group at one of the first meetings of the new council in May, following a request by SNP councillor Julie Dettbarn.
However, the group has not yet met with a spokesperson for the council saying it would gather this month.
They said: “Prior to summer recess, a member-officer working group was established in South Ayrshire and that will have an initial meeting during August.
“That group will build on the work of the financial inclusion strategic delivery partnership. The current focus of their work is on fuel poverty, food poverty, income maximisation and supporting people into the workplace.
“We have a strong commitment to work with our communities and our partners to take what steps we can to reduce the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
“This work will be dynamic and we are open to ideas from communities as to what we can effectively do to help.”
East Ayrshire Council depute chief executive Katie Kelly outlined the concerns of the local authority and some of the progress being made.
Ms Kelly said: “We are concerned about rising energy costs coupled with rising food and fuel bills. The communities we serve are facing a very real cost-of-living crisis that will intensify over the winter months.
“At a local level, the council is working with partners, including the East Ayrshire health and social care partnership, to coordinate a campaign to ensure that our communities know how to access all of the available supports both locally and nationally.
“This worked extremely well during the pandemic and is so important that we continue to work alongside our local communities and businesses to support each other during these challenging times.
“In addition to our households, we are seeing reports that local businesses are also affected by the rising energy prices and the council will ensure that support is provided to local businesses through our economic development team and that they are signposted to other national supports, as they become available.
“This is a national crisis, the likes of which none of us have faced before.”
Last week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon chaired the Scottish Government resilience committee to discuss the crisis.
The Scottish Government said it would expand the Scottish child payment; hold an emergency budget review to redirect additional resources; consider options to limit cost increases and work with energy companies, banks and food retailers to see what further help can be provided.
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