Developed by the council’s Community Planning Partnership (CPP), it sees public agencies working in partnership locally with communities, the private and third sectors to plan and deliver better services for all so that residents can lead dignified lives, free from poverty.

The cabinet also agreed to set up a ‘Tackling Child Poverty Board’ that will be chaired by Councillor Marie Burns, the leader of North Ayrshire Council. The Board will agree, monitor and deliver a strategy to tackle the root causes of child poverty and to help the council and its partners make the best use of their resources and economic levers to help people to achieve financial independence and live their lives free from poverty.

The work of the Board will be informed by the Scottish Government’s Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan.

The cabinet has also agreed to put North Ayrshire forward as a Pathfinder local authority which, through information gathering and partnership working, will help inform the Scottish Government’s ongoing ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’ action plan.

The pathfinder project would see North Ayrshire working alongside community partners to provide person-centred solutions to poverty, delivered with dignity, respect and kindness. If successful, North Ayrshire would be poised to benefit from a share of the government’s £5 million Tackling Child Poverty Fund to support the important work of pathfinder local authorities.

Councillor Marie Burns said: “Tackling deeply ingrained poverty, made worse by the current cost of living crisis, must be a priority for the council. We already have a range of measures to support struggling families including, for example, food provision, financial advice and an ongoing £500,000 investment to support families with reducing the Cost of the School Day. These existing measures will be carried forward in the new action plan.

“We also need to look at longer term, sustainable approaches including our commitment to build 1,575 energy-efficient homes to help tackle the threat of fuel poverty. In the short term, the council has agreed a £1.7m fund to provide energy advice and grants to support making existing homes more energy efficient.

“The Board will also be working on how best to support people trying to get back into work. An example of this is the fund recently agreed by Cabinet to provide temporary travel passes for residents as part of a package of employability support.

“In taking this work forward, we intend to work closely with our communities to drive immediate and positive change and to challenge poverty across our six localities to help struggling families and to give our children and young people the best possible start in life.”