The levels of poverty in the West Lothian town of Bathgate have been laid out by the head of the local advice service.
Council staff working out of Bathgate’s Partnership have help hard-pressed people in the town with almost £4m in benefits in the last year.
But hundreds are still struggling with the basics – with almost 400 food bank vouchers were issued to help almost 700 people in town get something to eat, and 27 per cent of children live in poverty.
West Lothian Council’s anti-poverty manager Elaine Nisbet spoke to the Bathgate Local Area Committee on Monday, outlining changes since the council’s Advice Shop service and its benefits teams joined forces under the banner of the Anti-Poverty Service earlier this year.
The move to a one-door approach has provided a simplified service for people and makes it easier to help in diverse areas from money and debt advice to benefit claims.
Staff have helped claimants with £3,925,399 in benefit awards. The service has gained £267,581 through appealing unfair decisions and has helped customers manage £648,451 of debt.
Other Bathgate statistics paint a grim picture of the daily difficulties many people face. There has been a 20 per cent increase in the number of applications received for the Scottish Welfare Fund during the last year.
More than £2m was paid out in Discretionary Housing payments to those affected by Bedroom Tax, benefit cap and suffering financial hardship.
”The aim is to help the most vulnerable households.” said Mrs Nisbet.
Councillor Willie Boyle congratulated Mrs Nisbet on the work the team was doing but had worries that the name Anti-Poverty Service carried a stigma which would put many people off from seeking help.
”From our point of view it’s an internal name. Our customers still see it as the Advice Shop. Front facing, the service is very much what customers know,” said Mrs Nisbet.
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