THOUSANDS of kids are going hungry regularly in Dumfries and Galloway as child poverty levels reach an all-time high.
A deeply worrying picture is developing of the struggles families are still facing, despite additional efforts to combat the cost of living crisis.
Alarm bells had already been ringing loudly over the fact that 26 per cent of youngsters were living in poverty in this region, but this figure has now risen to 26.9 per cent.
The latest data available shows that there are now nearly 7000 children living in poverty in homes across the region where parents are battling financially to put food on the table and electricity in the meter.
Dumfries and Galloway Council’s annual child poverty report, due to be presented to councillors next week, reads: “The stark reality is that child poverty is still increasing in Dumfries and Galloway.
“We know that too many children and families face poverty issues and difficult choices on how to make available resources go as far as possible.”
The council and health board have a joint responsibility to report to the Scottish Government each year on the state of child poverty in the region and the actions being taken to address the issue.
The document that’ll be sent to Holyrood ministers this year makes for grim reading.
This child poverty report will be discussed by councillors next Tuesday, who will also be informed about a hard-hitting documentary made by Dumfries and Galloway youngsters about the challenges they’re facing.
One boy in the short film, called ‘Through Young Eyes’, said: “There were points where I was sitting for days without food, like without anything. And it destroyed me.
“You were questioning, is there any point?”
Every year the End Child Poverty Coalition publish data on the number of children living in poverty in each local authority.
This data is based on Department of Work and Pensions and tax information, and is for 0-16 years.
The report states: “Data released in June 2024 showed Dumfries and Galloway to have a child poverty rate of 26.9 percent for 2022-2023.
“This represents a 0.9 percent increase on the previous year, or a 3.5 percentage increase for the period 2015-2022.
“The data also shows that in 2022-2023 there were 6841 children living in poverty in Dumfries and Galloway compared with 6751 for the previous year, representing an increase of 90 children.”
This report has been jointly prepared by Dumfries and Galloway Council and NHS Dumfries and Galloway.
It also notes that last year, 5496 crisis grants were paid to help people with food and energy bills, while 2335 community care grants were dished out to assist people in poverty to buy things like white goods and floor coverings for their home.
In addition, £220,000 was allocated to holiday food payments, used during school holidays. In the last year, holiday food payments were issued to 3645 children.
The same amount of money, just under £2m, was allocated in the council 2024/25 budget for tackling poverty and the cost of living crisis.
The question is now whether this even comes close to what is required to address what is arguably the region’s biggest problem.
