Aberlour Children's Charity: A Fairer Approach to Public Debt

Alissa De Luca-Ruane, Policy and Participation Officer from Aberlour Children's Charity shares information on their work on Public Debt, and invites Edinburgh Advice Network members to get involved in work to shape debt recovery in Edinburgh. She also provides information on their Urgent Assistance Fund which can be used to support families struggling with Public Debt.

A Fairer Approach to Public Debt

Aberlour Children's Charity have been calling for a Fairer Approach to Public Debt since their Tayside pilot scheme began in 2022.

Aberlour is calling for a more compassionate approach from local authorities around preventing and recovering public debt, such as rent arrears, council tax arrears and school meal debt. This could break the evident cycle of current practice that causes children and families to be frozen in poverty. Campaigning is happening at a governmental and local authority level.

Get Involved in Edinburgh - Share your experiences!

We are working closely with City of Edinburgh Council to review their rent arrears policy and procedures, and are keen to hear from you about your experiences in supporting families impacted by public debt. Aberlour's Challenge Public Debt project is a collaborative approach, working alongside a large number of third sector organisations and local authorities. We are most effective when we understand lived experience and when other agencies share their knowledge.

Please do contact Robyn.Moffat-Wall@aberlour.org (Senior Policy Lead) to be heard, and help shape the work taking place with City of Edinburgh Council. 

Urgent Assistance Fund

As a charity committed to addressing the poverty experienced by children, Aberlour also hosts an Urgent Assistance Fund that can accept applications for families with a child under 18, or unborn, where there is a critical need for financial support. A sponsor can complete the form and support the family to potentially access funds within 48 hours. Please do check out the explanatory video and reach out for help. 

Further Information

If you are interested in this post, you may also want to check out all the documents and videos from our recent Edinburgh Advice Network Session: Supporting People with People Debt. Alissa shared a presentation at the session where she talked in more detail about their work Nationally and Locally, and you can find the video link for this on the EAN Website, Past Meetings and Events Page.