Around 950 children in East Renfrewshire could fall into poverty as the cost of living crisis hits, research has shown.
The stark figure was revealed by officials as the council agreed the latest stage of a £4.4m support package last week. A raft of measures to help residents include extending family bridging payments and offering winter clothing grants.
Additional money has been made available for the Scottish Welfare Fund, Christmas dinner vouchers will be provided to vulnerable families and money advice services increased.
READ MORE: 'Warm banks' planned for East Renfrewshire as residents face fuel poverty
Council officials reported: “Despite having one of the lowest rates of child poverty in Scotland, there is a significant gap in standards of living amongst our poorest and wealthiest families.”
They said children “who could be sitting next to one another in school” make “the contrast all the more apparent”.]Analysis from the Glasgow City Region’s intelligence hub found the number of children in poverty could increase by 950, a council official said.
She added: “Weak earnings and income growth, in-work poverty and increasing fuel and food costs have seen household finances squeezed.”
The report to councillors stated the Covid-19 pandemic, a post-lockdown surge in demand for fuel, a lack of supply of fuel due to lack of renewable generation, poor crop yields, a reduction in food production, Brexit and the war in Ukraine have all contributed to the cost of living crisis.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting, council leader Owen O’Donnell, Labour, said rising child poverty was “something we’ve got to keep a very close eye on as a council”.
“I think it will be a shock to most members of the public to hear we are expecting another nearly 1000 extra children in poverty over the next year,” he added. “I think that’s over a third increase on our current levels.”
He also said the council is “trying to do the best for our residents with the limited resources we have”. After the support package was announced, he called on the Scottish and UK Governments to “do more to help those who are struggling to heat their homes and feed their children”.
Cllr Tony Buchanan, leader of the SNP group on the council, welcomed funding from the Scottish Government to “help residents with the cost of living crisis, which has been exacerbated by chaos at Westminster”.
“The Scottish Government has a fixed budget with limited resources,” he added. “Despite the economic headwinds we face, the SNP are supporting the most vulnerable people in East Renfrewshire, increasing the Scottish Child Payment to £25 and delivering a rent freeze for all social and private tenants.
“But there is no escaping the reality that we need full borrowing and tax powers to make the biggest difference in tackling the cost of living crisis.”
Money for the support package has been taken from covid recovery reserves, resulting from Scottish Government funding. At the start of 2022/23, the council had £10.5m in “unrestricted covid reserve”. It has retained £4m for over winter 2022/23 and all of 2023/24
“The Scottish Government has been clear that there will be no further funding,” officials reported. “With another covid wave expected in the autumn, pressures on staffing levels could increase in late 2022/23 and additional funding may be required to keep services running. Income is still expected to be affected in 2023/24.”
They added: “However, as we get further into the winter period, we should be in a clearer position regarding pressures and it may be possible to release some of the retained £4m for intervention to support residents.”
Some proposals to support residents, valued at £227,363 for 2022/23 and £993,363 for 2023/24, have been deferred as there is currently “insufficient funding”. “Should further funding become available through any alternative source, we will return to these deferred proposals,” the council report added.
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