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West Lothian Anti-Poverty Strategy

The Community Planning Partnership is committed to addressing poverty and believes that West Lothian should be a place where everyone has the chance of a decent and secure life free of poverty.

The West Lothian Anti-Poverty Strategy 2018 - 2023 [1MB] sets out how the Community Planning Partnership aims to address poverty at a local level. Over the five year period from 2018/19 to 2022/23, the strategy aims to:

  • protect people in West Lothian from the worst extremes of poverty and deprivation
  • enable and empower people to access opportunities to become financially resilient
  • tell a different story about poverty and increase understanding and reduce the stigma
  • work collaboratively with partners, and use our collective voice to lobby the Scottish and UK Government to bring about change

Community Planning Partners develop and deliver a range of activities each year designed to work towards these overall aims. The focus of this work will be on those households that are:

  • working but not earning enough
  • not working and on a very low income
  • just about managing; and
  • those not managing at all

The strategy is overseen by an Anti-Poverty Task Force, which monitors progress through a range of performance indicators. These indicators link closely with the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan, West Lothian Community Planning Partnership's long term vision for West Lothian. It sets out the local outcomes the CPP will prioritise and how the CPP will deliver on these. 

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Affordable Credit
Responsible lenders act in the best interests of the customer by providing clear terms and conditions, making sure credit is affordable and offering support to the borrower if they have difficulty with repayment. If you need to take a loan or buy items on credit, there are different options for affordable credit available from responsible lenders.
Access to Food
Everyone in our society should have access to food. Too many people are trapped in the grip of poverty and find themselves unable to meet one of their most basic needs; food. By working together in West Lothian, we can help individuals to access the right help and support to ensure their needs are met.
Tackling Child Poverty
Too many families find themselves trapped in the grip of poverty and it can be difficult to find the key to unlocking a more secure financial future. Action is being taken in West Lothian to help families break free of the grip of poverty.