Issue - meetings

(i)            to approve the proposed improvement actions;

(ii)          to instruct the Chief Officer – People and Citizen Service to report back on progress within 12 months;

(iii)         to instruct the Chief Officer – People and Citizen Services to work with Chief Officer - Data Insights to improve the response and enhance the insights for the next survey; and

(iv)         to instruct the Chief Officer – People and Citizen Services to speak to service users accessing the Council’ s money advice services about how they receive information and sources they trust and to report back to committee via a service update.

(i)            to instruct the Community Planning Manager to provide an update in respect of the trends on the number of organisations receiving food distributions from Food Poverty Action Aberdeen;

(ii)          to note that the Community Planning Manager would organise a session for members to look at the data by locality level; and

(iii)         to approve the outputs and anticipated outcomes of the Cost of Living Fund achieved to date and actions to ensure funds will be fully spent by April 2025.

The Committee had before it an update report prepared by the Community Planning Manager on the outcomes achieved to date from Round 1 of the Cost of Living Funding allocated for 2024/25.

The report recommended:

that the Committee approve the outputs and anticipated outcomes of the Cost of Living Fund achieved to date and actions to ensure funds will be fully spent by April 2025.

The Convener, seconded by the Vice Convener, moved:-

that the Committee -

(1)          instruct the Community Planning Manager to provide an update in respect of the trends on the number of organisations receiving food distributions from Food Poverty Action Aberdeen;

(2)          note that the Community Planning Manager would organise a session for members to look at the data by locality level; and

(3)          otherwise approve the recommendations.

Councillor Tissera, seconded by Councillor Watson, moved as an amendment:-

that the Committee -

(1)         approve the outputs and anticipated outcomes of the Cost of Living Fund achieved to date and actions to ensure funds will be fully spent by April 2025, agreeing Child poverty has gone up by 1.8% since the SNP took charge of the Council; and agree the SNP rejected Aberdeen Labour proposals in the budget to help with fuel poverty; and

(2)         note the charity Christians against Poverty has said following the UK Labour budget “it feels like there is light at the end of the tunnel for those in poverty”, noting over one million UK citizens will be £420 better off thanks to the Chancellor.

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (7) – the Convener, Vice Convener and Councillors Brooks, Davidson, Hutchison, Kusznir and Mennie; for the amendment (2) – Councillors Tissera and Watson.

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the motion.