Cash-First: Towards ending the need for food banks in Scotland Islands Communities Impact Assessment

Part 2 - Who will be affected

The direct beneficiaries of the Plan and its associated actions are people who experience financial crisis and require urgent assistance to access food and other essentials. There is evidence of higher prevalence of food insecurity and food bank use in certain household groups, including some protected characteristics^[7] and those with low income. The Family Resources Survey^[8] indicates that this includes:

• younger people;
• single adults;
• lone parents;
• larger households;
• disabled people;
• minority ethnic households;
• those in receipt of low income benefits; and
• tenants in the social rented sector

Organisations that provide assistance to those groups may be affected:

• Food banks may see a reduction in demand for their services.
• Local sources of emergency financial assistance such as the Scottish Welfare Fund may see an increase in the need for their services.
• Advice services may see an increase in demand or complexity of need.
• Organisations that refer people to food banks may notice changes to the referral landscape.
• Organisations that provide holistic wellbeing supports may notice changes to the referral landscape.

2.1 Demographic island specific data

There are six local authorities who represent island communities, as defined under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018. These are: Argyll and Bute Council; Comhairle nan Eilean Siar / Western Isles; Highland Council; North Ayrshire Council; Orkney Islands Council; and Shetland Islands Council. Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles are entirely island authorities, while Highland, Argyll and Bute and North Ayrshire local authorities cover island regions as well as mainland regions.

Evidence suggests that the cost food and other essentials may be higher in some rural and island areas,^[9] and that people may experience additional non-financial barriers to food in island communities linked to dispersed populations, limited food retail, irregular or disrupted transport, and weather related disruption. However, food insecurity data indicates that prevalence of food insecurity is often lower within these local authorities than the national average.^[10]

The distribution of food banks and other food aid providers is generally understood to correlate with low income and deprivation, and there is at present no island-specific assessments of food bank distribution. The Rural Lives Report ^[11] suggests that as with in urban areas, food banks have increasingly become an important source of support in rural communities, both for crisis support but also for access to wider services and social connection. The Plan should be carefully implemented so as not to overlook the role of valued local services. In reducing the need for food banks, the Plan aims to reduce the need for their emergency food parcels by improving the response to financial hardship, including at a local level. The Plan recognises the importance of holistic support and the contribution that community organisations can make to household wellbeing and the local resilience.

2.2 Different experiences between island communities

The Scottish Health Survey^[12] indicates that nationally around 9% of households worry about affording food. The local disaggregation of this suggests that island areas generally report lower levels of food insecurity – at around 7% in Argyll and Bute, 7% in Na h-Eileanan Siar, 6% in Highland, 8% in North Ayrshire, 5% in Orkney and 5% in Shetland.

These figures are subject to a margin of error (95% confidence interval) which may be more pronounced for areas with a smaller sample size. This locally disaggregated data on food insecurity is broadly consistent with existing evidence on deprivation. It is not possible to further disaggregate data to individual island communities.

The Trussell Trust^[13] and the Independent Food Aid Network^[14] have not reported any differential experiences amongst food banks in their networks between island communities though this could be a data gap that would benefit from further exploration.

Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2019-2022^[15] data provides a snapshot over three yearly periods of the increase in poverty for both urban and rural households. In 2007-2010 there were 150,000 rural households in relative poverty, however this increased by 70,000 to 220,000 by 2019-2022, an increase of 47%. For the same period the number of rural households in severe poverty rose from 100,000 to 150,000, an increase of 50%.

2.3 Existing design features and mitigations

Existing nation-wide interventions to tackle food insecurity during the first two years of the pandemic provided local decision-makers with flexibility to adapt interventions to reflect local needs and this has enabled island authorities to reflect local priorities in the delivery of support.^[16]

Monitoring of local authority spend from the Winter Support Fund and Financial Insecurity Fund indicated that a range of support was put in place, including:

• Establishing discretionary funds to meet unique rural and island needs.
• Provision of cash payments to alleviate higher fuel costs due to type of heating systems installed in some island communities.
• Issued “cosy home” packages which included blankets, heaters, hot water bottles.
• Additional funding to improve referral pathways to income maximisation and holistic support.

Some additional island-specific supports were also put in place that contribute toward tackling food insecurity, this includes:

• The Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund provided local authorities with funding to strengthen existing schemes and put in place new supports to support those struggling with rising living costs. Argyll and Bute targeted some of their resource to support additional cash transfers for pupils eligible for Free School Meals on the basis of low income.
• The Community Led Local Development Fund is supporting over 380 community projects in rural and island communities and includes action to address poverty and food insecurity.

Some island communities have specific strategies and interventions to tackle food insecurity and the need for food banks. This includes Orkney’s Food Dignity Recommendations which sets out the practical actions local partners will take and include developing an “every door a right door” pathway to improve household financial resilience.^[17]