Family Prosperity Network
Reducing child poverty is a key priority for West Dunbartonshire Council.
Voluntary organisations, including food insecurity network provide emergency food, school uniforms, holiday meals, and practical support that fills gaps and reduces stigma. Together, these services coordinate to address immediate needs, improve family resilience, and engage communities in decision-making, creating a holistic network aimed at reducing the impact of poverty on children and families.
You can read more about how Scottish Government in partnership aims to eradicate child poverty in Bringing Hope, Building Futures: Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2026-2031.
To support the delivery Scottish Government wider commitments, they published the No One Left Behind Employability Strategic Plan 2024–2027
Family Prosperity Network
In 2024/25 the `Family Prosperity Network' was established with the explicit aim of contributing to the Community Planning West Dunbartonshire vision by addressing child poverty:
‘To develop West Dunbartonshire as a place where people choose to live, work, explore, visit and invest.’
The Family Prosperity Network (Lead Group) will draw on representatives from community planning partners, third sector organisations and employers, incorporating the voices of people with direct experience, to co-ordinate joint efforts that have an impact on poverty and disadvantage.
The Family Prosperity Network aims to:
- Broaden the understanding of child poverty and raise awareness of the actions and potential actions that could be taken.
- Co-ordinate approaches and stimulate partnership working designed to:
- Alleviate immediate hardship and crisis through cash first approaches.
- Reduce the cost-of-living for families with children with specific emphasis placed on those most in need.
- Maximise income from benefits through the provision of good quality debt and money advice, guidance and representation and focussed campaigns.
- Maximise income from employment through the provision of employability and learning services.
- Monitor and report on progress
The Family Prosperity Network will take the lead in preparing the local child poverty annual report with Community Planning West Dunbartonshire and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde providing strategic oversight and scrutiny of the network’s actions. This approach will ensure that the report not only complies with the statutory requirements within the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 but will also ensure that the aims of child poverty legislation and associated actions are considered in the wider strategic and policy context.
The Family Prosperity Network will encourage continuous improvement by:
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Bringing local partners together, through the Family Prosperity Network, to work together co-ordinating activity, co-designing services and agreeing shared outcomes relating to child poverty.
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Bringing together information from a range of sources (including statistical data, information from local delivery partners, including the third sector) to develop a greater understanding of the factors that prevent families moving out of poverty.
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Adopting a co-ordinated approach to ensuing the voices of lived experience are reflected in the development of local priorities, policies and services.
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Providing pathways out of poverty in the long term, by aligning policy and planning in key policy areas, such as economic development, employability support, travel/transport, education, community-based learning and skills, housing and benefits to ensure parents and young people can access high quality support.
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Ensuring the journey within and between the support services provided by the council, private and third sector is as seamless as possible.
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Developing a proportionate framework of indicators to ensure progress towards shared outcomes can be understood, reported and continuously improved.
West Dunbartonshire’s Local Child Poverty Action can be found West Dunbartonshire Local Child Poverty Action Report