Tuesday October 7th 2025
Guest speaker from Robertson Trust at the Sustaining Anti-Poverty Work event
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Today (7 October), Midlothian Financial Inclusion Network (MFIN) hosted a morning of discussion around sustaining anti-poverty work in Midlothian, being open to all third sector organisations to provide information and advice during this week’s Scotland’s Challenge Poverty Week.
Attended by many non-profit groups in Midlothian, the ‘Sustaining Anti-Poverty Work in Challenging Times’ event consisted of talks from representatives from Robertson Trust and The National Lottery Community Fund, who discussed their organisations funding options.
Alongside these guest speakers, a member of the Midlothian Council spoke on what the council’s census is showing surrounding poverty levels in Midlothian and how to correctly operate the councils census system, where it was identified that the county has a lot of individuals experiencing work poverty.
Uniting local third sector organisations during the national challenge poverty week, it allowed for important Midlothian non-profit organisations to gain valuable advice and funding options, alongside encouraging discussion about how to tackle the rising poverty issue in Midlothian.
Challenge Poverty Week is Scotland’s annual chance to highlight the injustice of poverty, and to celebrate collective action based on justice and compassion. The annual week began in 2013 and is organised and run by The Poverty Alliance, Scotland’s network of organisations and individuals working together to end poverty.
Speaking on Midlothian taking part in the annual week, Peter Kelly of The Poverty Alliance said:
“We’re very pleased that Midlothian is marking this year’s Challenge Poverty Week. In a rich country like ours, poverty is an injustice that weakens us all as a society. But we can solve it. We can redesign our economy to make sure people have incomes that are adequate enough to live a life with freedom and dignity.”
Midlothian’s event was hosted by Midlothian Financial Inclusion Network (MFIN), which is part of Midlothian Community Action (MCA). Today’s event was a partnership between MCA, MFIN and Midlothian Climate Action Network (MCAN).
With sustaining anti-poverty work across Midlothian being a core aspect of MCA’s and the Midlothian Council’s vision for the area, the event aimed to focus on how to sustain the vital work being done in Midlothian against poverty. Encouraging discussion and showcasing funding opportunities at the event allowed for MCA to provide more of their continued support for Midlothian’s organisations tackling the poverty issue.
Lead Development Worker at MCA, Natalie Welch, explained:
“We are seeing that there is a lack of funding opportunities for organisations and that’s a concern to us. Events like this are to support organsiations who do anti-poverty work. We’re not doing any anti-poverty work ourselves but we can support that.
“We are one of only five local authorities that’s seen an increase in child poverty. That’s something that needs to be sorted out.”
“We know that poverty is one of the biggest precursors to poor mental health, to health issues and sustained issues. Then also talking about in-work poverty aswell. I think that’s something we are seeing within the third sector because there is a lack of funding and funding opportunities arent rising with inflation. Charities are effectively receiving a cut.
“The Midlothian Council are here today and are trying to understand the methodology behind tackling poverty. It seems obvious that anti-poverty work is really important.”
Alongside the council guest speaker, Councillor Margot Russell was in the audience spectating and asking questions to the Robertson Trust and National Lottery representatives.
With the event’s aim to highlight injustice in poverty in Midlothian and show that collective action can create lasting solutions, Natalie explained that the event was a succes.
“I think it’s amazing that we can have funders come out and speak to us. Midlothian is a small community and it’s great that we can have somebody come out from the council and talk about the stats that they use. It shows the sort of close relationship that we have and the ability to work together to tackle issues, especially poverty.”
Despite highlighting the event’s success, Natalie explained that she wanted a larger turn out to share the information that the guest speakers presented with more crucial organisations in Midlothian.
Tweet Share on Facebook
