THE work of the Edinburgh Poverty Commission has been shortlisted for a national award as the city aims to end poverty in Scotland’s capital by 2030.
The group, which worked together throughout 2019 and 2020, is in the running for the Community Involvement category of the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) awards with the winner being announced later in the year.
Also nominated in the Rising Star category is Paula McLeay, head of policy and insight at the City of Edinburgh Council.
In the past year Paula has led and delivered work on climate strategy, poverty and a fair, sustainable Covid-recovery programme. She was also instrumental in setting up the Edinburgh Poverty Commission.
Council leader Adam McVey said: “This is a welcome celebration for the work of the Edinburgh Poverty Commission and the End Poverty Edinburgh citizen group.
“It is important too that we see this as wider encouragement to continue the commitment we have made as a council to involve and empower people in Edinburgh to shape the changes they want to see in their city – whether it is on ending poverty, tackling climate change or improving local spaces.
“I’d also like to congratulate Paula McLeay on her deserved shortlisting in the LGC awards as she is really is a rising star driving forward many projects resulting in real change on the ground like the setting up of the Edinburgh Poverty Commission.”
The commission was an independent group sponsored by Edinburgh Council in 2018 to define the steps the city needed to take to end poverty. In doing so it led the largest single inquiry on the experiences, causes and solutions to poverty ever conducted in any local authority area in Scotland.
A final report – A Just Capital: Actions To End Poverty In Edinburgh – was published in September last year in which the commission concluded that poverty in Edinburgh is real and damaging but not inevitable.
The report made a call to action for the city to end poverty in Edinburgh by 2030.
To meet these goals, the Commission identified six priority areas – fair work, a decent home, income security, opportunities to progress, connections, health and wellbeing – and a total of 48 specific actions to be taken forward by all stakeholders and citizens of Edinburgh.
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