Millions secured for Falkirk households as anti-poverty work marks second year
More than £13 million in benefit gains have been secured for local people, while hundreds have moved into work and more families are getting help with essential costs, as Falkirk marks the second year of its five-year anti-poverty strategy.
The latest Building a Fairer Falkirk update sets out progress during 2025/26 across income and household costs, access to fair work and transport.
The update comes ahead of Challenge Poverty Week, which starts on Monday 5 October. Throughout the week, the Council will highlight local support to help people increase their income and reduce household costs, as well as work taking place with partners to tackle some of the wider barriers people face.
Helping people increase their income and reduce costs
Advice and support services secured £13.4 million in benefit gains for local people during 2025/26, while the number of households receiving Council Tax Reduction increased to 14,390.
A new online benefits calculator is also helping people check whether they could be missing out on financial support. Between January and March 2026, it recorded 975 sessions, identifying an average of £766 a month in potential additional support for each user.
Targeted work with schools resulted in 149 new awards for Free School Meals, School Clothing Grants and Education Maintenance Allowance, helping families access support they were entitled to.
Supporting people into fair work
There were also improvements in employment and skills.
Falkirk's employment rate increased to 78.3%, while 476 people moved into employment with support from the Employment and Training Unit.
A further 614 qualifications or accredited training achievements were gained, while the proportion of 16 to 19-year-olds participating in education, training or employment increased to 92.8%.
Modern Apprenticeship starts within Council services also increased to 52, creating more opportunities for people to gain skills and experience while earning.
Support continues to focus particularly on people who can face greater barriers to employment, including parents, young people, disabled people and those with long-term health conditions.
Reducing transport barriers
Progress has also been made to make it easier for people to access affordable transport.
Face-to-face help with bus pass applications and replacements is now available at Falkirk, Grangemouth and Denny libraries, with 4,147 people supported in person during the year.
National Entitlement Card numbers increased to 22,419 children and young people and 43,194 older and disabled people.
Community transport use also grew, with minibus bookings increasing to 199, while supported bus services continued to provide access to 14 areas without alternative commercial services.
Challenges remain
The update is clear that poverty remains a significant challenge. High living and housing costs, debt, digital exclusion, health and transport barriers continue to put pressure on households.
Demand for crisis support remains high, with 3,645 Crisis Grants awarded during 2025/26. Disabled people, lone parents, larger families, ethnic minority families, care-experienced people and those facing health-related barriers also remain at greater risk of poverty. Efforts to tackle poverty have an enhanced focus on these groups.
Councillor Paul Garner, Acting Leader, Falkirk Council said:
Behind these figures are thousands of people and families who have been able to access additional income, find work, gain qualifications or get help with costs that can put real pressure on household budgets.
“Challenge Poverty Week is also an opportunity to make sure people know what support is available. If someone is struggling financially, or simply wants to check they are receiving everything they are entitled to, we want to make that as straightforward as possible.
“We also recognise the scale of the challenge. Poverty is rarely about one issue alone. Housing, health, childcare, transport and employment can all be connected, which is why working together and making support easier to access will remain central to our approach.
Looking ahead
Learning from the first two years of 'Building a Fairer Falkirk' will now shape the next stage of the strategy.
A key focus during 2026/27 will be developing Falkirk's first Whole Family Support Plan, recognising that families can face several connected challenges rather than one issue in isolation.
Partners will also continue targeted work to increase benefit take-up, improve access to advice in trusted community settings, support people into fair work and training, reduce transport barriers and use local data to better identify where support can have the greatest impact.