Tackling Poverty Update - 21 April 2025

1. School meals Uptake - School Healthy Living Survey

This annual survey reporting free school meal uptake on a given day shows a slight increase in meals being taken in 2024 compared to 2023..

The uptake of free school meals was 71 per cent on survey day in 2024 (70.4 per cent in 2023).

Section 1: School meal uptake - School healthy living survey: school meal uptake statistics 2024 - gov.scot

Fife Council has been automatically awarding free school meals from the 1st April 2025 and / or clothing grants where the Financial Wellbeing and Revenues Team can identify entitlement.

This is an extra support to ensure those entitled are receiving the entitlement.

2. Poverty Alliance Briefing on poverty and disability

The Poverty Alliance prepared the briefing below ahead of this week’s debate in the Scottish Parliament on welfare reforms and disability.

Briefing: Scottish Government debate on UK Government Welfare Reforms - The Poverty Alliance

It highlights that the latest Poverty in the UK report shows that the poverty rate for disabled people is 31% which is 12% higher than that for non-disabled people.

3. Pension Age Disability Payment is now open for applications across Scotland.

It is the fifteenth benefit to be delivered by the Scottish Government, and it is replacing the UK Government’s Attendance Allowance.

Pension Age Disability Payment is for disabled people or those with a long-term health condition that means they need help looking after themselves or supervision to stay safe.

It is available to people of State Pension age and is also available to pensioners who are terminally ill.

More Social Security Scotland - Pension Age Disability Payment available nationwide

4. New research shows that health is one of the public's top worries – with 77% wanting to live more healthily.

People understand that our health is shaped by the world around us, not just individual choices.

• Good health is being seen as something that helps us fully take part in work, family life, and our communities.
• 
  Pressures that people deal with in everyday life make it much harder to stay healthy or to prioritise health – from working long hours to long hours to put food on the table and keeping up with rising living costs.
• 
  The public want to see real, bold action on the factors holding us back from good health – from improving housing standards and working conditions, to better access to healthy food and early years services.

Find out more here. Health Equals | Research backed by Health Equals finds the British public want bold action on health

5.Digital Exclusion

This Audit Scotland report came out last year.

One of the key messages in the report is that “the most vulnerable groups of society are often most affected, including people in poverty, older people and disabled people.

The report is clear on the importance of people being able to access digital services, it states that “a lack of digital access can have a negative impact on people’s lives”. The report goes on to say that digital exclusion can affect people’s access to services, social connections, health, and economic and financial wellbeing.

Some of the consequences of digital exclusion set out in the report are

• making it harder to access services and information,
• making it more difficult to search for and apply for jobs online and reducing employment opportunities
• making it more difficult for parents to engage with children’s education
• preventing people from shopping around online for more affordable prices on different products including internet connectivity,
• incurring debts or being unable to make payments if they lack the skills and confidence to use online payment methods, and

• increasing social isolation.

•  

• Tackling digital exclusion | Audit Scotland

As always, please get in touch with Sheena Watson or Audrey Whyte if you would like more information on any of this week’s content. We would also value any contributions you would like to make towards future editions.

Contact: Sheena Watson

Email: sheena.watson@fife.gov.uk