Tackling child poverty

Around one in five children live in low income families in Fife and too many children are not ready to learn when they start school. Many people in Fife are unable to manage financially; more than a third of residents live in fuel poverty and around 24,000 residents are unsure about how they can pay for food.

The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 requires Local Authorities and NHS Health Boards to jointly products Child Poverty Action Reports annually that focus on reducing child poverty and contributing towards Scotland achieving its nation child poverty targets. The Act specifies three drivers of child poverty that should be managed:

  • Income from Employment
  • Costs of Living
  • Income from Social Security and Benefits in kind

Fife Council and NHS Fife jointly publish an annual Fife Child Poverty Action Report in collaboration with key partners. The report outlines a number of actions that aim to reduce levels of child poverty. Our latest report and all previous reports can be found at the links below.

It is a key priority of Fife’s Community Planning Partnership - Fife Partnership - to ensure that people in Fife have equal access to opportunities and help to support a fulfilling and decent life. Fife Partnership intends to work more collaboratively to eradicate deep and persistent poverty, tackle the cost of living crisis and address the issues that limit the aspirations of many Fife residents.