The Scottish Government will invest nearly £2.2 million to enable the Wise Group to provide wrap-around support to individuals and families on low incomes in six local authority areas.
The investment, from the Tackling Child Poverty Fund, was announced by Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville during a Scottish Parliament debate on supporting households with cost-of-living pressures and rising energy bills.
It will allow the Wise Group to continue with work which has so far helped 3,200 households, enabling people to find work, increase their skills and improve their financial situation.
The wrap-around nature of the support means mentors from the Wise Group are also able to support people to improve their mental health and wellbeing.
Ms Somerville said: “We know people continue to face pressures with the cost of living and the recent announcement that energy bills are set to rise again this month will only add to those pressures.
“The Wise Group work we are funding, offers support not just with an immediate crisis, but aims to help people make long-term improvements to their financial stability, helping them to access help with issues such as childcare, training and finding sustainable work.
“Eradicating child poverty is the Scottish Government’s overriding mission…”
The Wise Group welcomes this investment as a crucial opportunity to test how we do things differently – reimagining how we deliver services and strengthening our interaction with local public services to create a joined-up, preventative approach to poverty.
Our Relational Mentoring model proves that poverty isn’t just about income – it’s about barriers to employment, financial insecurity, mental wellbeing, and access to services. Tackling these issues together, rather than in silos, is what delivers measurable, long-term outcomes. This funding allows us to continue embedding that approach, working with families in Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, and the Scottish Borders to drive real, lasting change.
This is also a prime moment to adopt an ‘invest to save’ mindset – where resources are focused on proven interventions that prevent crisis, reduce long-term public spending, and deliver greater economic and social returns. The cost of keeping people in poverty is high, but the cost of failing to act is even higher.
By transforming how we deliver services and deepening our interaction with local public services, we have the chance to scale what works, embed prevention over reaction, and shift Scotland’s dial on poverty – permanently.
