Latest EAP meeting minutes and Child Maintenance Training offer
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The minutes for June's Edinburgh Advice Partnership (EAP) meeting have now been published, with input from Social Security Scotland alongside a presentation from Fife Gingerbread on the Child Maintenance project. Training for advisors was discussed with potential dates on 6th or 7th October. Email Jo Baldock at joanne.baldock@capitalcitypartnership.org to note interest.
July EAP meeting
The partnership met on 30th July 2026. Full minutes and meeting documents are available via the EAN resources section under EAP updates.
Social Security Scotland: Local Delivery Team Support and ID Verification
Shelley Ritchie, SSS's Local Delivery Team Leader for Edinburgh West, attended to provide an update in response to issues and questions raised by members. The Service cannot respond to all questions today, with further information also expected from the National Stakeholder Team.
Members received an overview of the support available from the Local Delivery Team, including assistance with benefit applications, identity verification, appointee assessments, and support with redeterminations and appeals (see Factsheet). An overview of the Identify Verification process was also shared.
Key points discussed included:
Current waiting times of around 12 to 14 days for in-person appointments, with telephone and video appointments available more quickly.
Alternative identity verification routes remain available for clients who do not have photographic identification, including alternative documents or the use of a referee-based process, ‘Verify Your Identity’.
Referrals to Local Delivery advisers can only be made through the Social Security Scotland helpline and there is currently no direct adviser referral route.
Members were also reminded about available stakeholder resources, including newsletters, SSS website information and upcoming Winter Heating Benefit events.
Child Maintenance Support
Kerry Jones from Fife Gingerbread provided an update on work to improve awareness and uptake of child maintenance as an income maximisation tool.
The presentation highlighted:
The approach trialled in Fife has generated significant financial gains for families and has informed development of a new national Child Maintenance Support Service.
Potential opportunities to increase family income through more consistent child maintenance conversations within advice settings.
The Child Maintenance Explained resource and training opportunities available to advisers.
A local Edinburgh working group is exploring referral pathways, practitioner confidence and better recording of child maintenance outcomes. Dates for multi-agency training are being explored, facilitated by EAN.
Please email Jo Baldock at joanne.baldock@capitalcitypartnership.org to note interest with availability for proposed dates of 6th or 7th October. If neither date is suitable, you can also note this, as a further date could be looked at.
See also the recent Network News post: New child maintenance support and resources for families in Scotland
Understanding Demand and Unmet Need
The partnership continued discussions on how to better evidence unmet need and improve understanding of barriers to accessing advice services.
Updates included:
Planned work by CAE and CHAI to engage more widely with people with lived experience of advice services and barriers to access.
Child Poverty Accelerator Fund research involving CCP, CEC, CRER and the Improvement Service, focusing on unmet need for advice and income maximisation among minority ethnic, migrant and refugee families.
Opportunities to align future EAP engagement work with wider Community Planning engagement activity.
Further discussions with Smart Data Foundry are also expected in the coming months.
City of Edinburgh Council Advice Services Commissioning
Current expectations remain that the final framework will be published in September, followed by a 30 day application period. The Council has confirmed that a publicly available Q+A log is now available through the Public Contracts Scotland notice and will continue to be updated as further questions are received.
Winter Preparedness Planning
Planning is underway for a multi-agency winter preparedness approach, including a community event in Wester Hailes. Changeworks highlighted increasing demand relating to energy issues and new outreach activity funded through the Council. A dedicated winter preparedness discussion is planned for the August EAP meeting.
Other Updates
A further draft of the EAP Terms of Reference will be shared in order to align the current version more closely with other Edinburgh Partnership Groups, with increased data sharing with the wider Housing Partnership
Edinburgh Transport to Employment Grants have launched, offering grants of up to £50,000 through a six-month pilot programme.
Issues raised at the EAN Session: Keeping Up with Social Security Changes (23rd June) were highlighted by the EAN coordinator, including concerns around Universal Credit administration, delays and escalation processes. Information on DWP escalation routes will be recirculated, including on the DWP Advance Customer Service Team.
An in-person EAN event on Temporary Accommodation is now confirmed for 23 September, including a session on charging.
Members discussed increasing pressures around translation and interpretation services and explored potential community-based approaches alongside professional interpreting provision.
The partnership discussed the role advice services play in preventing homelessness and how this contribution can be better evidenced within Edinburgh Partnership reporting.
Coming Up
The next EAP meeting will focus on winter preparedness planning and potentially also input from Smart Data Foundry. Future meetings are also expected to cover financial inclusion, Social Security Scotland updates and the ongoing role of artificial intelligence within advice services.
For more information or to share feedback and help inform discussion on any of the topics covered in the July EAP meeting, contact your organisations' EAP representative (where you have one), or the Edinburgh Advice Network Coordinator at joanne.baldock@capitalcitypartnership.org.