The cost of living crisis was laid bare this week after it was revealed more than 7000 West Lothian children are living in poverty.
The new figures show that a fifth of all youngsters in the county are now living below the breadline as families struggle to make ends meet amid soaring fuel, energy and food costs.
The stark findings were revealed by the End Child Poverty coalition, whose research found 7263 (21.1 per cent) children are living in poverty, after housing costs are taken into account.
West Lothian Council said that around one quarter of children experienced poverty in 2019/20.
This is the largest proportion of children living in relative poverty since 2014/15 and represents more than a three per cent increase in the five-year period between 2015-2020.
Now the local authority has revealed a new action plan to tackle the crisis.
A new Local Child Poverty Action Report (LCPAR) for West Lothian has been published which sets out the scale of the challenges to reduce child poverty. NHS Lothian, West Lothian Council and members of the Child Poverty Reference Group and Community Planning Partnership Anti-Poverty Task Force have worked to co-produce the report.
Leader of West Lothian Council, Lawrence Fitzpatrick, said: “Tackling child poverty is a shared responsibility and in West Lothian this responsibility sits with a collective group of organisations under the West Lothian Anti-Poverty Strategy.
“The scale of the challenge to reduce poverty at a local level should not be underestimated, especially as funding available to local authorities is limited.
The fact is many of the most effective long-term interventions for alleviating child poverty sit with national government, most notably in Westminster.
“However, we can’t focus on what we can’t control, the council is focusing on what we can do to improve the life chances for young people in West Lothian and all agencies must work together to make progress. Ultimately, we are investing in work that will hopefully reduce poverty in West Lothian, including child poverty.”
“It is important to note that the most recent estimate covers a period of time that is pre-pandemic and cannot account for the financial impact of the pandemic. This highlights the scale of the problems that local people are facing.”
Poverty levels have remained high across Scotland and the rest of the UK, despite families benefiting from the temporary Covid-19-related increase to Universal Credit.
Members of the End Child Poverty coalition in Scotland are also calling on the UK Government to ensure benefits keep pace with inflation permanently – not just through one-off measures announced by the Chancellor in May.
Ed Pybus, of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, said: “Progress is being made but, as low-income families struggling to cope with spiralling prices know all too well, there is no room for complacency, and we need every level of government to do its bit if we are to meet Scotland’s child poverty targets.
“The UK government must now commit to ongoing increases in UK family benefits.”
For more information about the local plan to help mitigate child poverty email Anti.Poverty@westlothian.gov.uk.
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