Housing and homelessness form key part of Edinburgh’s poverty commitment

The update report, which was considered and agreed by councillors yesterday, also responds to the Edinburgh Poverty Commission 2025 update on its inquiry into the causes of, and solutions to, poverty in Edinburgh.

According to the report, collaboration between the council and partners over the past 12 months has led to:

• £26m put into the pockets of low-income households in Edinburgh
• working with employers to encourage take up of the real living wage, saw a record 790 employers sign up, and collectively employing over 221,000 workers
• supporting 5,100 people into work and learning
• intervention from specialist council teams prevented 1,700 households from homelessness and helped almost 600 households to move on from temporary accommodation
• literacy, numeracy, and attainment levels improved for pupils in the most deprived areas of the city
• subsidised childcare places provided for working families through Edinburgh’s Affordable Childcare for Working Parents service
• new approaches to using data and online tools made it easier for people to access their entitlements – providing an average of £5k per year to 132 people

The Poverty Commission’s 2025 update report found that, like Scotland as a whole, Edinburgh is not yet on track to meet its headline target to reduce poverty rates to 10% by 2030.

They have called on the council to make the most of the powers it has, increase the pace and scale of delivery and reform the way services are delivered in communities across the city.

In response to this, the Policy and Sustainability Committee agreed the response and actions for the year ahead.

They include:

• delivering the city’s plans for five Neighbourhood Prevention Partnerships, as part of a city-wide poverty prevention programme to make it easier for people to get help
• completing the Review of Support for the Third Sector, to provide sustainable funding for voluntary and third sector partners 
• improving the availability of affordable childcare across the city to help parents and carers back into work
• investing in more and better affordable housing
• develop a community wealth building plan
• continue work to develop innovative services to prevent homelessness

Council leader, Jane Meagher, said: “I’m grateful to the members of the Edinburgh Poverty Commission and End Poverty Edinburgh for all their hard work in producing their updated report and recommendations.

“Their original calls to action from back in 2020 undoubtedly focused our minds, and our collective efforts since have prevented thousands more people from entering poverty and homelessness and helped many more into secure work. This is alongside putting tens of millions of pounds worth of previously unclaimed benefits into residents’ pockets.

“But, despite five years of investment and hard work, poverty remains stubborn and, if anything, more complex and severe – which is why this latest report and the action plan behind it is so important.

“I agree with the Commission that we can’t do this alone and with their call on all levels of government to work with us in a way that makes best use of our local knowledge to support the communities that need it the most.”

Ms Meagher said she will write to both the UK and Scottish Governments to set out what the council is doing to tackle poverty in Edinburgh and where it needs their support.

Linda Craik, co-chair of the Edinburgh Poverty Commission, said: “During our review, we heard some quite distressing stories of the impacts and effects of poverty on families and we’ve heard the frustrations of those agencies and individuals who are trying to help them. But we’ve also seen some fantastic examples of collaborative working which is starting to make an impact on the poverty landscape.

“While we are going in the right direction as a city – and there are glimmers of hope – overall the city is not on track to end the poverty cycle by 2030. The council, and partners, have worked collaboratively at local level to eradicate poverty in Edinburgh, but more needs to be done – and quicker – if things are to improve. We need to make access easier for those who need it, and I believe that a number of the actions set out by the council and partners will make access quicker and easier for those who need it most.

“My message to the city is – please listen to the people you are trying to help – we may have the answers and solutions that you need. End Poverty Edinburgh is happy to work with anyone who wants to be part of movement to eradicate poverty in our city.”