Changing Lives for the Better
The Midlothian Community Planning Partnership has reported strong progress in health, justice, children’s services, climate, economy, and poverty reduction over 24/25.
Key achievements
At the full Council meeting today (Tuesday), councillors considered some of the report’s key achievements as outlined in the Single Midlothian Plan Annual Report 2024/25.
Successes
Key Achievements:
- Health: Falls prevention services expanded, a dedicated phoneline launched, and more than 290 people were trained in fall prevention.
- Justice: The Women’s Justice Network expanded and early prison-release support improved.
- Children & Families: More than 1,400 staff took part in trauma-informed training; a mental health access pilot was launched and family support strengthened.
- Community Learning Partnership Plus: Employability support exceeded targets; a Midlothian Council No One Left Behind funded and NHS paid placements work scheme has seen 75% of participants gained jobs within the NHS. 3,737 young people through schools told us about their mental health and wellbeing, allowing supports to be built around their needs.
- Climate Action: A new Climate Hub launched; progress was made on active travel, freshwater education, and peatland restoration.
- Economy: 22 active and 17 new Community Wealth Building actions are underway; enterprise hubs were launched in priority areas.
- Poverty: Midlothian Council’s Cost of Living Task Force have funded a series of reducing poverty measures to the value of £462,500 including the Trusted Partners and Midlothian Food Pantry Network. Local Citizens Advice Bureaus have secured more than £7.5 million in financial gains for local people; over 2,200 kg of food has been redistributed; and our trusted partners network has made 1,178 payments to people in need in the last twelve months.
Looking forward
Two key priorities for next year are to share resources and data better.
Making a difference
Council Leader Councillor Kelly Parry said: “Despite challenges including funding pressures and resource gaps, local services and partners continue to work together to improve lives and are making a real difference to people most affected by the Cost-of-Living pressures.”
More about the Community Planning Partnership
The Midlothian Community Planning Partnership brings together public, voluntary and private sector bodies, and local communities to deliver the shared ‘plan’ based on evidence to improve the lives of local people.