Community Planning Aberdeen

Local partnership of public, private and third sector organisations and communities

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Unclaimed Benefits

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Did you know that millions of pounds of benefits and entitlements go unclaimed each year?
 
In line with Challenge Poverty Week, this short film produced by Station House Media Unit encourages people to claim the benefits they’re entitled to, highlighting the support available to help navigate the system. We hear from Laura (CFINE) and Angela (Aberdeen City Council) around the matter.
 
You can use the free benefits calculator on Aberdeen City Council’s website to find out what you could be entitled here.
 
Please click on the YouTube image below to watch the film. 

Report Highlights Positive Impact on People’s Lives by Community Planning Aberdeen

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Community Planning Aberdeen has showcased the transformative power of partnership working in its latest progress report, presented to the Board.

The report details progress against 16 key objectives – known as Stretch Outcomes – and 97 improvement projects within the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) 2016-26.

Councillor Christian Allard, Co-Leader of Aberdeen City Council and Chair of Community Planning Aberdeen, said: “Community Planning Aberdeen demonstrates the power of partnership working to deliver meaningful change.  The case studies in this report show the real difference collaboration makes to people’s lives.

“As we prepare to introduce the Local Outcome Improvement Plan 2026-2036, it is crucial that we continue to align efforts across organisations so we can achieve ambitious outcomes that improve lives and strengthen communities across the city.”  

Case studies detailed in the report highlight how partnership working is improving lives across Aberdeen.

Supporting Care Experienced Young People

Through the Family Nurse Partnership Programme, tailored support helps care experienced young people prepare for parenthood:

  • Since November 2023, 63 young people have been supported, with 87% reporting confidence at 36 weeks of pregnancy.

  • Support includes breastfeeding programmes, mental health referrals, money advice, and parenting classes for fathers.

Participant feedback:

“I found it really helpful to have a family nurse. It helped me prepare myself for having a child and when I was scared or lost or unsure, my family nurse was always there to keep me right.”

“I’m so grateful to have been given the option to have a family nurse and to have connected with her so well. I would take the option again in a heartbeat to have met such an incredible person.”

To read the full report, please click here or to read more about the Family Nurse Partnership Programme, please click here.

Increasing support for people living with chronic pain

Community Appointment Days bring health, social care, and wellbeing services together under one roof:

  • 225 people attended the first two Community Appointment Days, supporting a 65% increase in people living with chronic pain now engaged in self-management initiatives.

  • Nine out of ten attendees would recommend the approach.

Attendees feedback:

“The most important thing for me is being involved, to really understand and have this recognised- it is reassurance that it is being taken seriously, just as much as other serious health conditions.”

“What matters to you? is such a powerful question and I have never been asked that before. Boy it’s powerful and helps you really thing about your situation – and helps you take control of your life.”

One featured programme is Sport Aberdeen’s ESCAPE-pain, combining exercise and education for those with chronic knee or hip pain:

“These classes have been a blessing and have helped me exercise regularly. I didn’t think that would be possible without exacerbating pain, but I’ve learned so much about how it can help. We’ve all supported each other.” – participant of the Escape-pain programme.

“ESCAPE-pain is one of the most impactful programmes I’ve delivered. The relationships formed within the group and the way people open up and share is really powerful, as they learn they are not alone.” – Health & Wellness Advisor

To read the full report click here or to learn more about Community Appointment Days, please click here.

Improving health and wellbeing through Nature Prescriptions

Nature prescriptions, piloted with local GP practices through RSPB in Torry and Garthdee and link practitioners in the Central Locality, are helping people with their health and wellbeing through a greater connection with local nature:

  • As of October 2025, 58 people have been socially prescribed nature, supported by resources such as the Green Health Map.

Case examples:

  • Person A: Living with dementia and recovering from a stroke, Link Practitioner introduced an RSPB Nature Prescription, and now enjoys wildlife recording and outdoor time, improving speech and confidence.

  • Person B: Previously unemployed and struggling with anxiety and depression, now active in gardening and walking groups, reducing isolation and improving mental health.

To read the full report, please click here or to learn more about how the Community Link Practitioners at Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership can help patients at GP practices connect to community-based support and activities that help improve wellbeing and reduce isolation, please click here.

 

 

New Travel and Transport Survey Results – City Voice 53

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The City Voice is a panel of Aberdeen residents across communities who are regularly surveyed for their opinion and experiences in the city. We publish the results every few months and share the data with council service providers. The results of the 53rd questionnaire are out now — with a wealth of insights into travel and transport in Aberdeen City!

With each edition, we publish a newsletter with some headline results and a detailed report. Respondents often leave detailed comments for us too, which we forward to the relevant service providers to shape and enhance improvement activity in the city. You can find this edition’s newsletter and report here. 

Did you know…

  • 28.5% of respondents reported shopping/accessing services online more frequently; compared to 5% who do it less frequently.
  • 61% of participants said they would be prepared to use the bus more if real time information at stops were implemented.
  • The percentage of respondents who found the bus an easy transport option to hospital appointments decreased from 19.8% to 14.3%.

Thank you to all the respondents who took part in this survey, your contributions are greatly appreciated and we hope you enjoy the facts and stats gained from these reports!

Keep a look out for more survey results coming soon — City Voice 54. The ‘People’ themed questionnaire results about communities, health and services will be published in December.

Do you want to share your views?
Are these and other issues are important to you and your community? Do you want to tell us how Aberdeen’s public services can make things better? If YES, make your voice heard by becoming a City Voice Panel Member if you live in Aberdeen and are over 16 you can join. Find out more and join at communityplanningaberdeen.org.uk/city-voice/

New People Survey Results – City Voice 54

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Every few months, Aberdeen Community Planning asks members of our Aberdeen Citizens’ Panel for their opinions and experiences over a range of themed questions based off of our Local Outcome Improvement Plan. With these survey results, we share the data with the public and council service providers to help shape and enhance improvement activity in the city. The results of our most recent survey, City Voice 54, are out now—with new insights into all different groups of people, their health, communities and the services they interact with.

Each new edition includes a detailed report of every question broken down by gender, ethnicity, area, age and more, and a newsletter covering the collective findings. You can find the most recent edition of the newsletter and report here.

Here is a snippet of some of the things we found:

  • Awareness of vaccination and screening tests and information about where to find them has declined since April 2024. For example, in November 2025, 53.6% of respondents were aware of screening tests for which they were eligible, down from 71.6% in April 2024.
  • Compared to the last People survey 20 months prior, there has been an 11.7 percentage point increase in the proportion of people who want to be more socially active (from 35.8% to 47.5%)!
  • Only 2.5% of panellists said the standard of local facilities limited their ability to be more physically active. Transport only limited 3.1% of respondents.
  • The percentage of panellists who did at least 30 minutes of physical activity 5-7 days a week increased from 40% in April 2024 to 43.8%.

Thank you to all the City Voice panellists who took part in this survey, your answers and comments are greatly appreciated and we hope you enjoy the insights gained from these reports.

The next questionnaire’s theme is Economy and covers 5 topics including the cost of living, housing costs, access to support, Real Living Wage and homelessness. It will be published around March.

Do you want to share your views?

Are these and other issues are important to you and your community? Do you want to tell us how Aberdeen’s public services can make things better? If YES, make your voice heard by becoming a City Voice Panel Member if you live in Aberdeen and are over 16 you can join. Find out more and join at communityplanningaberdeen.org.uk/city-voice/

Aberdeen 2036: Help Finalise Our Plans

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You Told Us What Matters. Now Help Finalise the Plans.

Public Consultation: Local Outcome Improvement Plan 2026-36 & Locality Plans 2026–36
Shaped by Your Place, Your Plans, Your Future engagement

What this consultation is about

Last year, Community Planning Aberdeen carried out its biggest citywide engagement: Your Place, Your Plans, Your Future. From Feb to March 2025, 2,087 people, including hundreds of children and young people, shared their views on what life in Aberdeen is like today and what could make it better.

You told us about the importance of:

  • Feeling safe in your community
  • Green and natural spaces
  • Opportunities for young people
  • Fair work, skills and financial security
  • Stronger community connections
  • Accessible services and support
  • Housing that feels like home
  • Having a genuine say in local decisions

See our You Said, We Propose to see how what you said is important aligns to the proposals.

Since then, we have held a citywide conference, local community ideas workshops to brainstorm practical improvements, and locality events to share emerging findings and gather further insight. These activities have helped build on what participants told us and have supported the development of our draft Plans.

Why we need your voice again

We want to hear what you think about the priorities and proposals in the draft Local Outcome Improvement Plan 2026-36. Do they reflect what matters most to you, your family, and your community?

This is your chance to:

  • Let us know if you support the proposals, or not
  • Tell us if the proposals might affect you, or others
  • Highlight any priorities that you think need added.

Your feedback will make sure the final plans reflect the real experiences, aspirations, and needs of the people who live here.

How to take part

Our public consultation is open from 16 February to 20 March 2026.

Take part today by using the link below:

https://aberdeen2036consultation.commonplace.is/

If you need support in completing the consultation, please visit your nearest Library or Marischal College for digital support.

Thank you for playing your part.

Aberdeen walking and cycling figures updated – Outcomes Framework

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Hello and Happy New Year from Community Planning Aberdeen. Before the holidays, we were busy collecting and finalising some important statistics updates for the month of November. We maintain a database of national and city-level statistics in our Outcomes Framework stretching across our Local Outcome Improvement Plan’s 16 stretch outcomes, and these latest figures have now been added. These range from climate change and sustainable travel to child development and poverty. We aim to regularly share this data online for members of the public soon after it is shared with service providers, ensuring you can see how our progress is doing and view these extensive data sources yourself.

Some of the figures we updated in November include active travel (such as getting to work by walking or cycling), household waste, and more. For instance…

  • In 2024, it was estimated that 14% of people in Aberdeen City walked or biked to work—similar to the national average at 14.2%. Overall, the city is up from 13% in 2023 (ScotPHO)
  • As for primary modes of transport, there has been a five percentage point decline in the proportion of people walking as their main way of getting around from 2023 to 2024 (going from 30% to 25%). Car/van drivers have increased from 45% to 50% (Transport and Travel in Scotland, SHS Travel Diary)
  • Life expectancy at birth has increased in Aberdeen City from 80.9 for females in 2021-23 to 81.3 in 2022-24. Male has gone from 76.9 to 77.3. Both slightly higher than the national average (National Records of Scotland)

If you have any questions about our work or these figures, please don’t hesitate to email us at communityplanning@aberdeencity.gov.uk. Don’t see the stats you need? Remember, more can be found in the City Data Observatory!

Aberdeen employment, homelessness, alcohol and smoking figures updated – Outcomes Framework

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Community Planning Aberdeen maintains an Outcomes Framework with the latest data across 16 stretch outcomes which shows progress towards aims in our Local Outcome Improvement Plan. Did you know that we regularly share this data online for members of the public to gain at-a-glance insights into trends in Aberdeen City? The statistics we hold range from school exclusions numbers, total kilometres travelled by car, opinions on whether citizens feel included in democratic decision making, and many more. Every month, we issue Data Alerts that outline if things are improving, worsening or staying the same.

Some data sources recently updated in October, so we reported these to decision makers and service providers the following month. You can view the October data alerts here. We saw updated national figures for employment, harmful drinking, smoking, vaping, obesity, youth homelessness and more. For instance…

If you have any questions about our work or these statistics, please don’t hesitate to email us at communityplanning@aberdeencity.gov.uk. Similarly, you can see even more city-wide data from a multitude of national datasets in our City Data Observatory.

Trauma Informed Interaction: New Video Guide for Staff and Volunteers

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The following Trauma Informed Interaction video has been prepared by Aberdeen City Council’s Educational Psychology Service to provide advice for staff and volunteers across partner organisations and community groups working with people that have experienced trauma.

The 20 minute video will help staff and volunteers learn how they can de-escalate situations by promoting safety, understanding, and empathy. By recognising that past trauma can influence current behaviour, individuals can respond with compassion and avoid triggering further distress. This approach emphasizes building trust, respecting personal space, actively listening, and validating emotions, ultimately creating a safer and more supportive environment for everyone involved. Please click on the image below to access the video.