Deprivation levels on the rise in East Lothian, says new report

A new Scottish Government report, the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), revealed that hundreds of people are living in poverty in East Lothian.

And it said that while most local authorities had seen their share of Scotlands’s most deprived areas fall, East Lothian was one of only six which saw its share increase.

This comes despite the establishment of the East Lothian Poverty Commission in 2016, which warned then that almost half of all pensioners were living in fuel poverty and 30 per cent of children were living below the poverty line in the county.

The commission called for action from East Lothian Council and the Scottish and UK Governments to tackle the problems facing poorer families.

East Lothian MSP Iain Gray championed the Poverty Commission. He described the latest report as “worrying reading”.

Mr Gray said: “This underlines the fact that deprivation is a complex and ingrained problem for some communities.”

While East Lothian MP Kenny MacAskill said that the latest report showed the impact of austerity.

He said: “These aren’t just numbers but individuals and families who are suffering. Poverty is biting and Universal Credit is playing its part in the agony.”

East Lothian Foodbank said the findings were not a surprise as it had seen the number of people referred to it for help increase annually.

In the run-up to Christmas, it said it provided more than 320 food parcels and demand had nearly doubled in the last five years.

Candace Higgins, foodbank director, said the biggest number of people referred to the foodbank were on low income, while Universal Credit, which was rolled out in the county as a pilot in 2016, was still having a huge impact on people.

She said: “We are trying to push for an investigation into the five-week waiting time people face when moving onto Universal Credit and the impact it has.

"People who are receiving benefits are being given the minimal amount they need to live on, then they face a five-week wait and have to take out an advance loan which is paid back from that minimal amount.

“The five-week wait has to be looked at and, if possible, removed.”

The foodbank said that 42 per cent of people were referred to it because of low income and 28 per cent because of changes to their benefits and delays in receiving Universal Credit payments. A further 13 per cent are referred because they have been refused crisis loans.

The Scottish Government report is published every four years and looks at a range of poverty issues across communities which are broken down into 7,000 separate zones. It takes into account the number of people on low income, unemployment, levels of crime and health.

The new report found that 10.2 per cent of East Lothian’s population were income deprived, compared to 9.8 per cent in 2016. The Scottish average rate fell from 12.3 per cent to 12.1 per cent over the same time period.

And it placed the Northfield/Lindores Drive area of Tranent as the 653rd most deprived place in Scotland (up from 788th in the last report in 2016), with low income and high crime featuring as the biggest issues – this is the first time that an East Lothian community has been named in the top 10 per cent of Scotland’s most deprived areas.

Local ward councillor Gordon Mackett said the issue of poverty in the town could not be fixed overnight.

He said: “Through the council and its partnerships, hard work goes into trying to break the cycle.

“Unfortunately, it’s not a simple problem that is solved by money alone.

“Early intervention and support is vital and our education and social care team are working hard on help and prevention.”

A total of nine of East Lothian’s 132 datazones (6.8 per cent), out of a total of 6,976 nationally, were within the 20 per cent most deprived datazones in Scotland. This rise from five per cent in 2016 was tied for the highest percentage rise of any local authority in Scotland.

Included within the 20 per cent most deprived datazones were parts of Prestonpans, Wallyford and Musselburgh, as well as a wider area of Tranent.

Meanwhile, 30 per cent of East Lothian’s datazones fell into the most deprived 21-40 per cent in Scotland.

The least deprived communities in East Lothian were on the west side of Haddington, as well as in North Berwick, Longniddry and Dunbar.

The report comes as a second report into homelessness in the county revealed that people were staying an average of 160 days in temporary accommodation – the seventh highest number of any local authority in Scotland.

The report said East Lothian assessed 95 per cent of closed cases on homelessness between April and September last year but only provided support to five per cent of them.

However, the number of homeless applications fell slightly by one per cent.

Mr MacAskill said that East Lothian Council needed to do more to tackle problems facing people living in the county.

He said: “Council houses are being built and social housing being supported but it’s a long way back given the sale of so many.

"The council has a critical role to play and must do better.

“Lessons need learned by every organisation because this just shouldn’t be happening in 21st-century Scotland.

“But it is the Tory Government to blame, Scotland’s a wealthy country and all its people should share in it, not just the rich.”

However, Mr Gray placed the blame on what he described as “relentless cuts” to local authority funding by the Scottish Government, saying: “Despite concerted local efforts to tackle poverty, it is clearly disappointing that there has been an overall increase in deprivation here since 2016.

"It’s been exacerbated in recent years by a toxic combination of Universal Credit and relentless year-on-year Scottish Government cuts to council budgets.

“These cuts have inflicted long-term damage on some of our most essential local services. Housing is one of those vital services, and the rising national trend of children in temporary accommodation is particularly alarming.

“Instead of obsessing over the constitution and another independence referendum, the SNP need to prioritise tackling poverty and inequality, starting with ending cuts to councils in next month’s Scottish budget.

“We need to boost funding for local services, develop a proper plan for housing in Scotland and use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to mitigate the worst aspects of Universal Credit.”

Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell insisted the Scottish Government was supporting those living in deprived areas and added that over £47million was being made available in East Lothian for affordable housing.

She said: “Through our Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, we are meeting the issue head on, including introducing the new Scottish Child Payment worth £10 per week per eligible child.

“We are investing significantly in communities across Scotland, including through the multi-million city region growth deals and we remain focused on achieving inclusive growth.

“Over £47 million is being made available to fund affordable housing in the East Lothian Council area during that time to provide accessible, affordable, energy-efficient homes.”

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “While East Lothian remains among Scotland’s least deprived areas, continued action to reduce inequalities and tackle the long-term causes of poverty remains a top priority for the council and its key partner agencies.

“The SIMD rankings provide relative positions – for every datazone that improves its rank, another one must go down. A datazone might go down the rankings but actually have improved its situation, just not as much as other areas.

“We continue to take forward the recommendations of the Poverty Commission – established by the council – which includes looking at the cost of the school day, supporting lunch clubs and other initiatives, addressing food poverty and supporting the delivery of advice services to support people in applying for the benefits to which they are entitled.

"The economic development strategy is another key strand.

“Reports to the East Lothian Partnership and council in the coming months will consider what further action that needs to be taken.

"Initial analysis suggests a main reason for the decline in the relative position of some East Lothian datazones is due to a slight increase in income deprivation – higher numbers of benefit claimants – and a lower fall in employment deprivation compared to the Scottish average.”