Dundee has served as the testing ground for a charity project to help struggling families pay off crippling public debt, while saving taxpayers money in the long-run.
Aberlour ran a three-year scheme across the city and wider Tayside region to support households in poverty unable to pay costs like social rent or council tax.
Families in need of help have been able to apply for benefits or tax breaks they hadn’t previously been aware they were entitled to.
And in the most extreme cases, Aberlour stepped in with funds set aside to write off debts owed to public bodies like local councils entirely.
Has the project been a success?
Martin Canavan, Aberlour’s head of policy, spoke to our political podcast The Stooshie about why he believes the pilot scheme has been a huge success.
In one case, Aberlour was also to help a 24-year-old mum based in Tayside pay off debts of £2,288 by arguing she should be exempt from council tax.
Mr Canavan said the scheme actually helps public bodies save money by stopping families falling even further into poverty.
After all, the public purse often ends up footing the bill to tackle social problems like homelessness.
He acknowledged some people who are debt-free may find it unfair that a charity is forking out money and resources on this.
“That’s something we hear back all the time”, he told The Stooshie.
“There’s a sense of perceived fairness.”
But he said families who have been helped by the scheme were simply struggling to make ends meet and had not managed their finances badly.
“Those families aren’t in this situation because they’re feckless with their spending,” he said.
‘Significant presence’ in Tayside
Why did Aberlour pick Dundee, Angus, and Perthshire to pilot the debt-busting project?
“Aberlour has quite a significant presence in Tayside historically,” Mr Canavan said.
“In Dundee specifically, it’s got higher rates of child poverty.”
But Mr Canavan said residents in some leafier areas of Angus and Highland Perthshire are hardly exempt from falling into debt.
“Too often poverty is hidden,” he said.
“Poverty exists in these places, but we don’t always see it.”
Mr Canavan met Dundee Labour MSP Michael Marra and his colleague Paul O’Kane at the start of this week.
Given he believes the Tayside pilot has been a resounding success, can Aberlour influence Holyrood’s political leaders ahead of next year’s Scottish election?
“We’ve had really positive responses from some of the parliamentary parties here in Scotland,” he said.
“Our work is focused on doing everything we can to continue having those conversations.
“Hopefully that’ll allow us to influence manifestos right across the board.”
You can listen to the full interview with Mr Canavan on The Stooshie here.
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