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Highland Council agrees family support pilot project for Lochaber

Lochaber is to pilot a new approach to whole family support, funded by the Scottish Government. Image: Sandy McCook / DC Thomson
Lochaber is to pilot a new approach to whole family support, funded by the Scottish Government. Image: Sandy McCook / DC Thomson

Lochaber will be the first area in Highland to trial a new approach to family support services following Scottish Government investment.

The Scottish Government has committed £500 million for a whole family wellbeing fund, designed to deliver early intervention services.

Highland Council has agreed to target this work in Lochaber initially, before rolling out improved services across the region.

The council’s health committee today gave the green light to the Lochaber pilot, and agreed to hire a project manager and support team to get up and running.

Welcoming the commitment, councillor Lyndsey Johnston shared her own personal insights as someone with experience of the care system.

“I know first hand the trauma of being separated from family,” said Ms Johnston. “Anything that will prevent any more children having to go through these lived experiences is definitely something to be welcomed. Keeping families together and putting into the family is the best way of achieving good outcomes.”

Ms Johnston also emphasised the importance of reducing stigma around the care system.

Lochaber is ready to go

Other members also welcomed the fund, but questioned whether the council could deliver on its ambitions.

Trish Robertson stressed the need to make rapid progress, while Barbara Jarvie said “It’s a great vision, but one I’ve heard for the last 30 or 40 years.”

However, officers reassured members that they would move quickly. Health boss Fiona Duncan said plainly “These are things we’ve been trying to achieve for years and not quite managed in some areas, if we’re honest. It’s ambitious but it needs to be done. This is our challenge to ourselves.”

Lochaber councillor Thomas MacLennan said his area is ready to deliver the family support pilot.

“Lochaber has a history of getting all our community planning partners together in a  room,” he said. “It’s been like that for about 15 years.

“One of the drivers behind that is making efficient use of resources – get everybody out of their silos and speaking to each other.”

He added that issues with super-sparsity of the population is the challenge for Lochaber and the whole of the Highlands.

“It’s getting people together, that’s the way we’ve got to go,” he said. “This kind of approach has worked well in Lochaber and I can only say we’ve got to take it further in the Highlands.”

The Locaber pilot will see schools, health, social workers and police work together to help families at an early stage.

The council has a two-year funding package and will start its work in Lochaber before extending the whole family support approach across the Highlands.

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