Throughout the course of the tea, there were a number of interesting discussions relating to poverty in Edinburgh and a number of key themes were brought up, including:

“There are too many tenants from both the private and social rented sectors in Edinburgh who are living in poverty and are attending food banks on a regular basis. This cannot be allowed to continue.”

“A lot of people are not speaking about poverty because they feel embarrassed. We need to lose the stigma of poverty to ensure people feel able to speak about their issues.”

“The issue of poverty is brought up in many meetings that I attend. The impact of the benefits cap has had on people in the last five years has been horrendous. People need the right information about what benefits they and their family are entitled to. People are suffering and will continue to suffer if nothing is done.”

Betty Stevenson, ETF’s convener, said: “ETF was delighted to support the Poverty Alliance’s Challenge Poverty Week. Tenant representatives have seen first-hand the impact poverty has had in Edinburgh and it’s only by different organisations and agencies working together that we hope we can make a difference.”