For the past two years, writes Ron Ferguson in his Herald newspaper comment column, disadvantaged people from Glasgow have been telling the Poverty Truth Commission what it’s like to be poor in a land of plenty.
If Chancellor George Osborne wants to explore his assertion that "we are all in this together", he could have done no better than attend the closing session of Scotland's Poverty Truth Commission at 2pm on Saturday 16 April in Glasgow City Chambers. He was invited. But sadly he was not there.
Government attempts to tackle poverty that exclude the poor themselves are a recipe for ineffectiveness and injustice, says the Christian think-tank Ekklesia.
Politicians, policy makers, church and civic leaders are being told that poverty can only be properly addressed with the engagement of those it impacts.
Just as women’s rights would never have been won without women at the helm, poverty will never be truly addressed until those who experience it firsthand are at the heart of the process.
A fresh, detailed report is calling on the Scottish Government to include people from the deprived areas in shaping and delivering anti-poverty policy.
Scotland's Poverty Truth Commission, which meets again on 16 April, will stress the need for a major change of culture in developing anti-poverty strategies.