Fairness

The Dundee Partnership published its first Fairness Strategy in June 2012. Since then a number of initiatives have been undertaken through an associated Action Plan, with the institution of two successive Fairness Commissions being amongst them.

Download the Dundee Fairness Action Plan / Child Poverty Annual Report 2022/2023.

Challenge Poverty Week

Challenge Poverty Week is a national campaign taking place each year in October which highlights that a society without poverty is possible and showcases solutions we can all get behind.

Find out what is happening this year in Dundee for Challenge Poverty Week by viewing our events calendar.

The Poverty Alliance are driving the Challenge Poverty Week movement. The Scotland-wide campaign is designed to show that far too many people face the constant pressure of living on low income.

You can find out more information on the Challenge Poverty Week website – 2 to 8 October 2023.

Each day throughout Challenge Poverty Week we will be hosting our own information events, as well as highlighting organisations and local actions which help alleviate the negative effects of living with limited resources. Dundee City Council supports some of these activities through our various funding streams, including funding from the Dundee Partnership.

Stay tuned to our social media over the week to see what we are up to.

Challenge Poverty Week Podcast 2023

Welcome to our Challenge Poverty Week podcast ‘Dundee’s Young Voices Speak up for Cost of the School Day’. Challenge Poverty Week, which runs each year in October, highlights how difficult it is for families facing constant pressure of living on low income. Poverty awareness and positive action to remove school cost for families form a key part of Dundee schools efforts to reduce the costs of learning for everyone.

In this podcast series we are speaking to children from three primary schools – Rosebank, Camperdown and St Clement’s primary schools. We want to hear children’s views on costs related to their school day and learn about how their school supports families who may struggle under the pressure of the rising costs of living. First, we are visiting Camperdown primary school.

Challenge Poverty Week Podcast #1 - Camperdown Primary School
Challenge Poverty Week Podcast #2 - St Clements RC Primary School

Too many of our residents feel a great deal of pressure linked to the rising costs of essentials. The council provides advice and support throughout the year to our citizens, and we use the Challenge Poverty Week to highlight all the great work that is happening in our city. There are many ways in which the council can help you access support and advice:

In response to the cost-of-living crisis we have set up a dedicated section on our website: Help with the cost of living. This page contains links to sources of help and advice from Dundee City Council, our partners and external organisations.

If you are in need of advice but unsure who to ask, this handy “What Do I Do If?” leaflet will help you find the right support. You can download it here.

We are also part of the national Cost of the School Day campaign. Cost of the School Day is an approach adopted by all schools in Dundee where a range of initiatives take place aimed at reducing school related costs for families. You can read about the Cost of the School Day campaign on the Child Poverty Action Group page: Cost of the School Day.

As a Local Authority Dundee City Council is committed to tackling poverty and inequality by collaborative working with others through the Dundee Partnership. You can read more about our approach to fairness in the Dundee Fairness Action Plan / Child Poverty Annual Report 2022/2023.

First Dundee Fairness Commission

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

Download the final report of the Commission 'A Fair Way To Go'.

Second Dundee Fairness Commission

The Second Dundee Fairness Commission has brought together twelve 'Community Commissioners' with lived experience of poverty, and twelve 'Civic Commissioners' who work in the public, political and business sectors. They have called themselves 'Dundee Fighting For Fairness' and identified three key areas that they focussed on through working groups; Stigma, Money, and Mental Health. The recommendations of the second Dundee Fairness Commission can be found on our website. More information on the group is availableon our website.

Third Dundee Fairness Commission

The Third Dundee Fairness Commission also brought together twelve 'Community Commissioners' with lived experience of poverty, and twelve 'Civic Commissioners' who work in public, political and business sectors. They identified three key areas to investigate through working groups; Disability, Food & Fuel Insecurity, and Mental Health & Wellbeing. The recommendations of the third Dundee Fairness Commission can be found on our website.

Prevention Framework

At the heart of creating long term results, the Dundee Partnership endeavours to undertake work on prevention as well as tackling existing inequalities. To help with this, a Prevention Framework was agreed, which can be viewed on our website.

City Profile

In order to inform the activities undertaken, a range of information is needed to help target actions, and also monitoring where change has been brought about. While the City Plan focuses on five strategic priorities, broader information is contained in the documents held below.

Ward Profiles 2020

Coldside - East End - Lochee - Maryfield - North East - Strathmartine - The Ferry - West End

Annual Citizen Survey - 2017

Metadata relating to the City Plan is also useful, and can be found on our website.

Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020

A briefing paper discussing the key findings from the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020 can be accessed on our website..

Reports on the Impact of Covid

During the pandemic three different surveys of Dundee citizens were carried out, asking about the range of impacts they felt and the supports they used. View the results of each of these surveys:

Fairness

Related Links

Dundee City Council