First Minister John Swinney visits Centrestage in Kilmarnock

John Swinney’s appearance came during Challenge Poverty Week in collaboration with the charity Poverty Alliance, which has taken place every year since 2013.

The visit highlighted CentreStage's role in providing support to people in the area and addressing key social challenges.

The First Minister heard success stories from neighbourhood partners and participants, showing how organisations like CentreStage can positively support the aging population and encourage our young people to identify and develop their natural talents. 

He said: “One of the reasons I wanted to come to CentreStage is that for a long time I’ve admired the focus East Ayrshire puts on individuals for putting people right at the centre of policy making and finding solutions that transform lives.

"There’s been a lot of good examples of that over time in East Ayrshire, and CenterStage is a really fascinating collaboration between local communities.”

“I think with local initiatives - we’ll never eradicate child poverty in Scotland without local action - it’s not some top-down national programme that’ll do it.

"It’ll be by enabling communities to make a difference in people’s lives and change prospects and this is a really good example of that.”

During his appearance, he also insisted that the Scottish Government can still achieve its legally binding target to reduce child poverty to 10 per cent by 2030.

12 projects are set to receive grants of up to £80,000 from the Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund, including one in South Ayrshire for exploring interconnection between child poverty and additional support needs.

Founded in 2006, the CentreStage Village brings together a range of partners to provide services for individuals and families, helping to tackle poverty and inequality, while also creating space for people to come together new connections.

Fiona McKenzie OBE, founder and chief of engagement at CentreStage, said: “It’s an honour to have the First Minister visit us today.

"Bringing the CentreStage Village to life has been a challenging journey only made possible through working with others who believed in our vision of creating a new way of providing services to people, where and when they needed it.

“This beautiful, regenerated building makes it possible for so many people to find their place and purpose, regardless of age or circumstance.”

Challenge Poverty Week 2024 will take place from Monday, October 7 until Friday, October 13, with organisations across Scotland coming together to highlight the injustice of poverty in Scotland.