Earlier this month City of Edinburgh Council welcomed the coming Challenge Poverty Week (17 – 23 October), and agreed to explore ways to mark it across Edinburgh.
Cllr Lesley Hinds, Chair of Edible Edinburgh, put a motion to the council on the 17 September, which was discussed and agreed:
“Motion 9.1: By Councillor Hinds – Challenging Poverty:
“The Council and the Edinburgh Partnership have a strong track record in tackling poverty but acknowledge that more needs to be done. Council recognises the often hidden nature of poverty in Edinburgh, with around a fifth of households living on low incomes, with many households having at least one person in work and experiencing in-work poverty.
“Council welcomes that the Council Leader recently signed a pledge in support of the Church of Scotland’s ‘Food Justice Movement’ which includes commitments: to continue to work alongside those with lived experience of poverty to identify solutions; and to encourage the Scottish and UK governments to work in partnership with local government, communities and the third sector to tackle food poverty and develop a plan to tackle its causes.
“Council also welcomes and endorses the third annual Challenge Poverty Week which will take place from 17 to 23 October and asks the Chief Executive to consider ways the Council can contribute to the 2015 Challenge Poverty Week, including:
- organising events and activities to mark the week;
- promoting the week through the Council website, facebook pages, twitter, etc;
- encouraging partner organisations to get involved.
Council agrees to adopt the Poverty Alliance pledges detailed at http://povertyalliance.org/policy_campaigns/syl/syl_pledges “
How will you mark Challenge Poverty Week 2015? We will post details of activities across Edinburgh as we receive them.
