Long-term plans to combat poverty in North Ayrshire have been underlined by the area's SNP administration this week.

Depute council leader Shaun Macaulay spoke out after taking part in a series of events to mark Challenge Poverty Week.

He said:  “One of our key goals within administration is to reduce poverty. The week was about highlighting what is going on. 

"It might be Challenge Poverty Week, but councillors are concerned about poverty every day.

“One of the cornerstones of what we are doing in the administration is to reduce poverty. It is a cost of existence as  people do  not have a good quality of life.

“We told the cabinet we needed things straight away.  

“That is why we topped up the bridging payment by £100 and put money to support people in food larders.

“One of the things which came out of Challenge Poverty Week is that you can’t just focus on just picking up people from the river. We must stop them going into the river, Deal with poverty at source.

“That takes a longer-term approach. 

“Some councillors are frustrated by that but otherwise you will be fighting against the wind. With Labour everything is about the short term not the longer term."

The events, he said, gave much food for thought.

Cllr Macaulay added: “One of the things we spoke about at an event in Redburn Community Centre was No Wrong Door – when you go to the library to get a form to do with your housing, you get it there instead, of having to go to a few other places.

“I was at a Scotland-wide event on Child Poverty Action in Scotland the other day, and they backed up North Ayrshire’s approach to say 'you need crisis intervention, but if that’s all you are going to do you're never going to reduce [poverty] long term'.

“We have  increased the Living Wage in North Ayrshire and we had to reduce people's outgoings from the £.1.7m Energy Fund – part of that was about reducing energy bills at source.“