Money Proofing Policies

The Shetland Partnership hosted a Money Proofing Event. This brought together policy influencers from across the Partnership Network. One of the key purposes was to increase understanding of Money Proofing amongst policy makers. Another was to look at various organisations’ policies and services to see if there were any changes that could be made to reduce inequalities. As a result two organisations committed to changes in policy, both in relation to a review of their charging policy for accessing their provision. One is on hold due to Covid-19 and the other is progressing after initially being delayed.

The first local policy decision based on the Minimum Income Standard was enacted – the Food Fund uplift on Free School Meals. During the pandemic the Council increased the Free School Meal payment to households, by 20% to reflect the higher cost of living in Shetland.

More people are recognising and engaging in the debate about supporting low income households. This has been enhanced by the running of seminars on Poverty and Inequality in Shetland. These seminars were run for Elected Members (Councillors) and also for the wider Shetland Partnership network.

Cost of the School Day presentations have also been delivered to all Head Teachers, school managers and Parent Council Chairs, across Shetland.