THE powerful presentation made by young people on child poverty should have an influence on Dumfries and Galloway Council’s budget next year, a councillor insisted this week.
Annandale North Councillor Carolyne Wilson is adamant that the hunger thousands of children are facing on an ongoing basis, and the serious struggles faced by young people during the cost of living crisis should remain fresh in the memory three months from now when spending priorities are being drawn up.
After listening to a presentation by teenagers who produced a short film highlight the dire child poverty scenario in the region, Councillor Wilson said: “I think it’s so important that we hear directly from our young people, and I’d just like to thank you for having the courage to tell your stories and share your experiences.
“My plea would be to all members that we remember this presentation when we’re working on our budget proposals because 26 percent of our young people in poverty and children going hungry, it’s absolutely unacceptable.”
The council has invested just under £2m in various initiatives tackling poverty over the last couple of years, however the child poverty situation suggests that this is not nearly enough.
The latest data for 2022/23 shows that there were 6841 children living in poverty in Dumfries and Galloway – an increase of 90 on the year before.
This equates to 26.9 percent of children – a record high figure of kids living in poverty in homes across the region where parents are battling financially to put food on the table and electricity in the meter.
At Dumfries and Galloway Council’s tackling poverty, inequalities, and housing committee last Tuesday, Stranraer and the Rhins Councillor Willie Scobie said: “I’ve spoken to a number of people throughout the region on child poverty, and they don’t recognise that there are more than one in four children living in poverty.
“They think that because you don’t see people sleeping on the street and so forth that we don’t face poverty.
“I’d like to ask the young people, how do we get this message out there to people in the community that don’t realise or accept that we’re living with more than one in four children in poverty?”
The youths responded: “We have the video released on YouTube and very accessible places, but also people who came to our launch events had the video sent to them.
“We hope that they have spread that presentation as well.
“We are trying to get it shown in schools, and shown around youth work as well.
“We’ve just got to push it a bit further in the hope that more people will see it.”
