The first Fairness Commission brought together members with a wealth of experience from a range of settings including partners in the public, voluntary, community, private and academic sectors. Together the Commission members:
- Considered the nature, extent and impact of poverty in Dundee
- Identified and investigated the key causes and consequences of poverty along with policy and practical measures to address these
- Considered evidence of what has worked elsewhere to combat poverty and inequality
- Assessed the effectiveness of the efforts to date of Dundee City Council and the broader Dundee Partnership through the Fairness Action Plan for Dundee
- Sought the views and involvement of those experiencing poverty first hand
- Prepared a report for the Dundee Partnership and Dundee City Council with recommendations on additional priorities for action to tackle and reduce poverty in the city
In order to achieve the above, the Commission met on a monthly basis. The first meeting in April 2015 established the group, considered a range of evidence around poverty in Dundee & Scotland, and began to examine the approaches being taken by the Dundee Partnership and the Council. Council officers and community partners provided ongoing support to ensure that appropriate evidence and perspectives were available to the Commission.
Further meetings focused on collecting evidence in relation to key factors associated with poverty. This took the form of reports and presentations from local and national speakers with research or practical experience of:
- Child Poverty and levels of Educational Attainment
- Welfare Reform and the impact of changes
- In-work Poverty and the Living Wage
- Employability and Youth Employment
- Food Security and Fuel Poverty
The final report of the Commission 'A Fair Way To Go' is available here.
