Support for those in need in Nairnshire 

Efforts to devote funds to those most in need have been supported by Highland Council’s Nairnshire Area Committee.

Yesterday (Monday 26 May) the committee agreed to funding of £2,000 from the Nairn and Auldearn Poor Fund to the Nairn and Nairnshire’s ‘People’s Pot’.

The Nairnshire Area Committee has power to allocate these funds.

Chair of the Nairnshire area committee, Cllr Michael Green, said: “These funds might seem like a relatively small amount of money, but sometimes that can make a big difference to someone who might be struggling at a specific time in their lives, or who may be in danger of falling into a circle of debt.

“The Citizens’ Advice Bureau has proven to be well placed to help and identify individuals and families in need. We saw at Christmas the funds were able to ease pressures on several local families.”

The Nairn and Auldearn Poor Fund is to be used as a form of Hardship Fund to serve the people of Nairn and Nairnshire. Following a successful trial which was approved in November 2024, the committee agreed that the Nairn Citizens Advice Bureau should administer the funds as part of the ‘Peoples Pot’, which the CAB have responsibility for.

From November 2024 until January 2025 it supported 41 people in Nairn and Nairnshire – among them vulnerable families recognised as requiring support in the run up to Christmas.

The total amount in the Nairn Poor Fund that is available to be allocated is £9,031.84.

This fund is one of many administered by the Council which have been bequeathed for public benefit across the Highlands.

The Council has determined that those funds, which are targeted to benefit specific areas, can be administered by the relevant area committee.

At Monday’s meeting members also agreed to allocate £12,000 from the Nairn Common Good Fund to support the Nairn Highland Games.

The Nairn Highland Games is one of the largest and most popular amateur gatherings in the North of Scotland. First held in 1865, the Games have been an annual feature on Nairn’s summer calendar for over 150 years, with interruptions only during the World Wars and the pandemic in 2021/22.

Members were also updated on the works undertaken relating to the Nairn Common Good Fund over the last 12 months, and agreed an extension to the post of Nairn Common Good Officer for a further two-year period.