Glasgow Secures £1 Million Boost to Tackle Child and Family Poverty

Glasgow City Council has secured £1 million in funding to strengthen efforts to tackle child and family poverty across the city through a new positive outreach programme targeting vulnerable households.

New household-level data provided by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has identified 13,117 families in Glasgow, involving 24,727 children, currently living in poverty. Using this information, the council will begin directly contacting around 3,000 families with children aged between 0 and 5 as part of the city’s Child Poverty Programme.

The initiative is designed to help public services and third sector organisations engage with families earlier, better understand their circumstances, and provide tailored support before problems escalate.

Funding from the Scottish Government includes £650,000 for the Glasgow Helps team, which will lead the direct outreach work. A further £350,000 has been allocated to Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector (GCVS), which will work alongside community and voluntary organisations to expand the range of support services available to families.

Early stages of the programme are already underway in Drumchapel, where 100 families have received letters offering access to support and guidance.

The council has previously used DWP data to support anti-poverty initiatives, including the development of the Understanding Child Poverty report and the city’s Child Poverty dashboard, both aimed at improving understanding of the scale and impact of poverty in Glasgow.

Ricky Bell, Depute Leader of the Council, City Treasurer and City Convener for Financial Inclusion, welcomed the funding and described the programme as a major step forward in reaching families who may not currently engage with support services.

He said the data-sharing agreement had helped remove barriers preventing public services from directly connecting with eligible families and praised the scheme as an opportunity to deliver meaningful support where it is most needed.

The funding package and recommendations received cross-party backing from elected members at Thursday’s City Administration Committee meeting, highlighting broad support for collaborative action to tackle poverty across Glasgow.