At the beginning of October, we took part in Challenge Poverty Week alongside organisations throughout the country. Challenge Poverty Week provides an opportunity to reflect on the actions we can take to challenge the injustice of poverty. We took this time to educate ourselves about the prevailing injustices felt by the 1 in 5 people affected by poverty in Scotland, a figure that sadly holds true in Perth and Kinross.

We also used our platform to highlight some of the ways that poverty is being challenged in our local communities and third sector, from the plethora of food banks in our area to the cross-sector Anti-Poverty Taskforce.

Across Scotland, the third sector makes a huge contribution to the struggle against the cost-of-living crisis that has hit so many of our most vulnerable families. We have witnessed the sector coordinate resources, volunteers and funds to ensure help is delivered to those who need it most. At the same time, the sector promotes equitable outcomes and opportunities that address poverty in the longer term.

While the sector works around the clock to challenge poverty, it is important to remember that charities are facing many of the same challenges as our families and communities. They too struggle to provide heat and light for their workspaces and find the cost of supplies rising with inflation. We all welcome the news of the 10% rise in Real Living Wage announced last month, but at the same time we recognise the reality of rising staff costs as a consequence for the organisations we support.

For these reasons, we are calling for a collective push towards fair funding for our sector. The third sector has a pivotal role to play in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable in our communities. We are already witnessing amazing work, but for it to continue with maximum impact, we need to see stable funding that allows organisations to plan for the end of this crisis, not just the end of the month.

Funding for the sector must take into account these current difficulties and recognise the intense pressure our organisations are under just to keep their doors open. We need funding which is flexible and allows our groups to adapt to the crisis as it develops. We also need funders to take steps to offset the unique challenges faced by smaller organisations with more limited resources at their disposal.

We have been fortunate in Perth & Kinross to see some good examples of funding practice develop over the last year, and we hope this can be sustained and expanded. We all need our third sector to stay fighting fit and ready to challenge poverty in 2024 and the years to come.