Community / Payments worth more than £200 to form part of cost of living measures
LOW income families in Shetland are set to receive two payments of £120 per child over the winter.
It forms part of a series of measures Shetland Islands Council (SIC) will undertake in 2024/25 to help with the cost of living thanks to funding from the Scottish Government.
The SIC will receive £222,000 this financial year from the government’s islands cost crisis emergency fund, which is the same as the previous year.
At a meeting of the SIC’s policy and resources committee on Monday, councillors gave their green light to how the money will be spent.
The main chunk – £182,300 – will go to offering two winter payments to families accessing free school meals and school clothing grants.
This will be around £120 per child made on 6 December and 28 March, which is similar to what the council paid out during the first December of the Covid pandemic.
The council said it is engaging with the government agencies to clarify that these payments will not impact on benefit entitlement.
A total of £20,000 will also go towards continuing breakfasts for all secondary school pupils from October to March.
There will be £9,000 going towards hosting more ‘community pop-ins’, £5,000 will go to cost of living supports and £4,500 will support youth pop-ins.
Meanwhile £1,200 will go towards providing 200 Christmas dinners for low income households, with the scheme set to expand from Lerwick to include the North Mainland.
A report to councillors said in previous years the cost crisis funding from the government had also been used to bulk buy items such as blankets and hot water bottles.
This year the proposal is for frontline staff to be able to request specific items for individual households.
The report also confirmed that the St Ringans Hub, which opened in 2022 to support households under pressure due to the rising cost of living, will close and move into a shed-style facility at the Shetland Family Centre on Burgh Road.
During debate at Monday’s meeting SIC leader Emma Macdonald said she welcomed the acknowledgement from the Scottish Government regarding the importance of the cost of living in the islands.
Meanwhile Shetland Central member Moraig Lyall also welcomed the direct payments to families, saying it was the most effective way of meeting people’s needs.
Community planning team leader Emma Perring said this winter is likely to be another challenging one in terms of the cost of living.
She said the plans for the funding for 2024/25 have been based on how things have gone in previous years, as well as the Scottish Government’s drive to reduce child poverty.
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