Fairness – The Anti-Poverty and Inequalities Strategy
“Together, we build an East Ayrshire free from poverty and inequality, where everyone can flourish, belong and shape their future”
This is the first of many deep dives into Community Planning. Within our Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP), we aim to improve our local communities through 4 priority areas:
- Growth
- Wellbeing
- Fairness
- Sustainability
Within this blog, to mark Challenge Poverty Week 2025, we will explore fairness by shining a spotlight onto the Community Planning Partnership’s new Anti-Poverty and Inequalities Strategy, which was approved by the CPP Board in September 2025.
The Anti-Poverty and Inequalities Strategy provides a new framework and guidance to strengthen and coordinate our work to tackle poverty here in East Ayrshire.
Our aim with this strategy is to identify the root causes of poverty in East Ayrshire and ensure we work effectively in partnership to respond to the challenges these create.
The Context
Background – Poverty in East Ayrshire
Poverty in East Ayrshire is a problem. Out of the 32 council areas in Scotland, East Ayrshire is the 7th most deprived authority in the country according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).
Unemployment rates sit at 4%, with 43.2% of economically inactive residents suffering from long-term sickness – higher than the Scottish average of 34.6%. Healthy life expectancy in East Ayrshire is also lower than the Scottish average. Women in East Ayrshire have a healthy life expectancy of 55.4 years compared to the Scottish average of 60, and men have a healthy life expectancy of 55.8 years compared to the Scottish average of 59.6.
Additionally, 26.2% of households in East Ayrshire claim Universal Credit, which is higher than the UK wide average of 20%. These claims are predominantly made by single person households who make up 13.5% of this number, with a further 8.3% coming from single person households with children.
Lastly, 23.6% of children in East Ayrshire live in poverty, this is above the Scottish average of 21.2%. This accounts for 6000 children living in poverty, of which 70% come from homes with at least one adult being employed and in work. We can see by this that low-income is a serious issue we need to address.
Lived Experience
Due to the complexity of poverty, and the issues it creates, it would be an injustice not to use the experiences of local people to inform our decision making around the new strategy. Numbers and statistic do not tell us the full extent of the struggles people and families in poverty face.
Due to this, we consulted with residents to listen to the issues they face, with the aim of breaking down the barriers they experience. Discussions with people who are struggling with poverty will continue, with a Lived Experience Group being set up to inform future decisions on poverty and inequality in East Ayrshire.
The Lived Experience Group will support and inform strategic decisions on poverty across the coming years, playing a central role in the actions taken on policy on poverty.
“I was homeless at 9 years old”
“There are times I cannot afford to eat myself, so I leave myself with nothing for days sometimes weeks, so my children have enough to eat and I suffer in silence until the unbearable hunger pains from my own stomach tires me down”
“I lost my apprenticeship because of addiction issues stemming from my childhood abuse and trauma. My life then descended into one of crime and chaos”
The Strategy
Strategic Themes
The strategy has been split into 5 themes which will be used to inform any decisions we make and benchmark our progress on tackling poverty. These 5 themes are:
- Household Poverty
- Child Poverty
- Health and Wellbeing Inequalities
- Building Organisational Change & Capacity
- Building Individual & Community Resilience
Each theme comes with its own objectives for achieving success. If these objectives are met, then we believe that progress can be made towards addressing poverty and inequality in East Ayrshire.
Strategic Themes and Objectives
| Theme | Objectives |
|---|
Household Poverty
|
1. Maximising income
2. Reducing financial pressures
3. Better access to services
|
Child Poverty
|
1. Supporting wellbeing and development
2. Enabling learing and achievement
3. Building resilience for the future
|
Health and Wellbeing Inequalities
|
1. Building a healthy workforce
2. Investing in wellbeing communities
3. Bridging the gap - tackling different health outcomes
|
Building Organisational Change and Capacity
|
1. Embedding a whole-systems approach
2. Strengthen capacity and workforce skills
3. Using evidence and community voice
|
Building Individual and Community Resilience
|
1. Strengthening social networks
2. Empowering individuals and communities
3. Listening to lived experience
|
Monitoring and Reporting
The Strategic Oversight Group will report their progress to the CPP board. Through doing this, the Strategic Oversight Group can be held accountable for all the actions they take to tackle poverty and inequality. This progress will then be tracked through quarterly and annual reports.
Additionally, the Strategic Oversight Group will hold reviews at least once per quarter, to check whether targets have been met and take on feedback from partners to assess if their strategy has been effective or not.Through frequent reports and actively reviewing decisions which are made, we hope that it will be easier for both the public and our own teams to track our progress.
Conclusion
The Anti-Poverty and Inequalities Strategy shows a commitment from East Ayrshire Community Planning Partners to address poverty and its underlying causes. Although the time and resources it will take to tackle poverty are substantial, this strategy is a positive step in the right direction.
We will continue to do everything we can to improve the local communities of East Ayrshire and tackle the causes of poverty.
If you have any questions about community planning, or the Anti-Poverty and Inequalities Strategy, you can contact us through our email: communityplanning@east-ayrshire.gov.uk