Fife Council, Citizen’s Advice and Rights Fife (CARF) and partners are using real data about current and future need, through the Low-Income Family Tracker (LIFT) tool, to target advice and help. By making sure people have as much money as possible to live on, fewer households will end up in poverty and crisis.

CARF worked with public sector staff teams and community groups to embed income maximisation into their usual offer of support, using the our.fife.scot/gethelp website and our online benefit checker. Specific training on using these resources was delivered to frontline teams, services and community organisations by NHS Fife’s Health Promotion Service. Knowledge has been spread using different methods, including lunchtime poverty discussions, online modules, and a new ‘training the trainer’ network will keep rolling out the programme.

Over 700 staff and volunteers were trained in 2023-24 including Fife councillors, community councillors, local health condition support groups, employability support agencies and even a local football coaching team. They join a growing range of council teams who now include income maximisation in their day to day work with people.

Alongside direct intervention, information campaigns continued to encourage people to access online advice and the benefit checker themselves.

Using the tools we’ve provided, over 8,800 benefit checks were completed during 2023-24 and the financial gain across Fife from the large scale, integrated campaign work is estimated to be £6.7million. This includes 867 new households receiving pension credit – a 90% increase – and 440 new Tax Free Childcare accounts.