Additional £500k could be used to support cost of living this winter

AN EXTRA £500,000 could be used by the council to support cost of living pressures in Shetland this winter.

The money would come through net revenues from Crown Estate Scotland assets up to 12 miles at sea, which are passed on to local authorities.

Councillors will be asked to approve allocating £500,000 to tackle cost of living pressures at a meeting next week.

It comes after Shetland Islands Council wrote to the UK Government over the huge levels of fuel poverty the isles could face amid rising energy bills, with the cost of living already higher than the mainland.

The council already provides a range of support measures for people struggling financially, but there is an acceptance that more should be done over the winter despite government intervention.

Over the last month officers across the council have been planning and taking action to prepare for winter with partner agencies, the council said.

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A report to elected members said there are two key purposes behind the funding plans.

One is to support households experiencing challenging financial pressures “who have already received support through the Scottish Welfare Fund and Fuelbank Foundation”.

Another strand is to support communities and services to deliver activities through the autumn and winter as they normally would do.

“This scheme would remove any cost barriers to communities wishing to run activities that enable people to get together in a warm space, possibly with food and transport,” the report adds.

Shetland Islands Council chief executive Maggie Sandison would task chief officers with putting in place a system to process this funding, which would include the eligibility criteria.

It is anticipated that this funding, if approved by councillors, would be made available through to the end of March.

To date the council has received nearly £4 million from Crown Estate allocations since 2017/18.

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Just over £1 million has already been committed to supporting the Tall Ships event next year.

Meanwhile well over £2 million has been pledged to local projects who have applied through the Coastal Communities Fund.

For decades revenues the Crown Estate generated from owning and managing the seabed out to 12 nautical miles were regarded as unjustified by many in the islands including local politicians, salmon farmers and harbour authorities.

Since 2019, and following years of negotiations, a greater proportion of Scottish Crown Estate revenues is now redistributed to local authority areas with coastline – with Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles among the main beneficiaries.