Fairness and Child Poverty Action Plan Progress Report
The scale of the task faced by Dundee agencies to address local child poverty and fairness issues across the city is outlined in a new report.
A joint statement from Dundee City Council and NHS Tayside highlights that levels of child poverty in the city remain “consistently and stubbornly high”.
The Fairness and Child Poverty Action Plan progress report explains that a new method for calculating child poverty is now in place. This estimates that the percentage of children aged under 16 living in relative low-income families after housing costs in Dundee is 17.0% (2024/25), higher than the overall Scottish figure for this indicator which is estimated to be 14.8%.
Councillors will hear that the council and partners have been undertaking a range of initiatives and activities to try and tackle the challenges over 2025/26.
These include:
£687,658 generated in welfare benefits by 70 referrals from midwives and 87 referrals from Health Visitors
£300,000 allocated from Dundee City Council for emergency food distributed via Dundee Community Food Network
2,210 Fuel Bank Fund energy grants for households on pre-payment meters applied for by Dundee Energy Efficiency Advice Project
£872,448 in Holiday Support Payments paid to families/carers to help with meals during holiday periods.
5,354 school clothing grants paid to families in 2025/26
4,814 households supported with Housing Benefit to help manage rent payments.
12,197 calls and 9,703 applications for Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants to the Scottish Welfare Fund, with £1,948,639 awarded
426,312 individual period products distributed in 2025/26
£2,637,008 claimed in welfare benefits for 693 customers suffering from cancer and their families, helped by the Council’s Macmillan Welfare Benefits Service in 2025/26
£4,065,004 of Discretionary Housing Payments/Local Authority Hardship Fund Payments awarded to tenants in 2025/26
In the update, Councillor Mark Flynn, Leader of Dundee City Council and Chair of the Dundee Partnership, along with Greg Colgan, Chief Executive of Dundee City Council, and Nicky Connor, Chief Executive of NHS Tayside, explain that agencies remain committed to supporting families through the ongoing cost of living crisis.
They say: “Across Dundee, people are working together to make our city a fairer place. Communities are supporting neighbours, groups are welcoming members, and services are helping clients – all to improve the quality of life for individuals and families who are trying a create a better future for themselves.
“The members of the Dundee Partnership are determined to reduce the number of children and families living in poverty. We have made a whole-hearted commitment to deliver on our Fairness Action Plan and its aims to reduce inequalities in income, education, and health.
They explain that the report “... is full of data and examples of how hard we trying to help families to earn more money through work, to claim all the benefits they are entitled to, and to manage the escalating costs of living. Levels of child poverty in Dundee remain consistently and stubbornly high.”
The city leaders add: “Officially there are still over 4,000 children in Dundee in poverty. No child, adult or family should have to deal with the stress and damage that living in poverty can cause, so we are more motivated than ever to reduce this number.”
The report will be considered by Dundee City Council’s City Governance Committee on Monday June 22.
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