During 2025/26, partners across Fife continued to strengthen their approach to tackling poverty through early intervention, prevention and coordinated support. Recognising that poverty is often driven by complex and interconnected challenges, work has focused on improving collaboration between services, increasing access to advice and financial support, and developing long-term solutions that help families build resilience and improve outcomes.

A key development has been Fife's participation in the Fairer Futures Partnership programme, which is currently being delivered in Cowdenbeath. The programme is focused on improving outcomes for families at risk of poverty through a "No Wrong Door" approach, ensuring that people can access the support they need regardless of where they first seek help. Alongside this, the programme places a strong emphasis on preventative action, tackling child poverty and strengthening communities by developing services and support around local needs.

Building on this work, Fife has also been working with Public Health Scotland to develop a new strategic approach to tackling child poverty. Beginning in February 2026, this work uses Public Health Scotland's Prioritise Child Poverty toolkit, a data and systems-based approach that will help inform the development of the next Community Plan for Fife, Plan 27. The approach is helping partners build a shared understanding of child poverty locally, strengthen collective responsibility for addressing the issue and identify opportunities for targeted interventions that align with both national priorities and local circumstances.

This collaborative work responds to a recognised need for greater integration across services and partnerships. Previous reporting highlighted that information relating to the drivers of poverty was often spread across multiple boards and partnerships. The new approach seeks to bring partners together around shared priorities, making better use of resources, simplifying reporting arrangements and improving the ability to demonstrate impact.

The need for continued action remains significant. Poverty levels in Fife remain higher than the Scottish average, with Glenrothes and Mid Fife, and Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, now among the ten poorest constituencies in Scotland. Data also shows that more than 30,000 households in Fife are living on low incomes. Two-thirds of these households are single-adult households, while lone-parent families represent the second largest group, highlighting the importance of targeted support for those most at risk of financial hardship.

Alongside strategic developments, practical support has continued to make a meaningful difference to local people. Large-scale benefit maximisation campaigns have helped ensure that residents receive the financial support to which they are entitled. One significant example has been the Pension Age Disability Payment campaign, which resulted in 6,793 additional people successfully claiming and receiving an award. If all awards were received at the lowest payment rate, this represents more than £27 million in additional income reaching older residents across Fife, helping to reduce financial pressures and improve household stability.

Supporting people to access advice early is also a key part of Fife's preventative approach. The launch of the Fife Advice Framework in 2025 introduced a simple, tiered model designed to make quality advice easier for organisations and frontline staff to provide. Covering areas such as income maximisation, housing, energy and money advice, the framework helps ensure that people can access the right support at the right time, reducing the risk of crisis and helping households manage ongoing cost-of-living pressures. During its first year, 217 individuals were trained in using the framework, increasing advice capacity across local services and communities.

This work directly supports the Plan for Fife priority of Tackling Poverty and Preventing Crisis. By strengthening partnership working, improving access to advice and financial support, and developing a more coordinated approach to child poverty, partners are helping to reduce inequalities and improve outcomes for children, families and communities across Fife.

Looking ahead, the learning from the Fairer Futures Partnership programme, the development of Fife's new child poverty strategy and the continued rollout of the Fife Advice Framework will help shape future approaches to poverty prevention and financial inclusion. By building on the principles of prevention, collaboration and early intervention, Fife is working towards a more joined-up system of support that enables individuals and families to access help sooner, maximise their income and build greater resilience for the future.