Child Poverty Bill crosses first hurdle

A Bill to tackle child poverty has been unanimously approved at its first stage by the Scottish Parliament.

Holyrood has agreed to the general principles of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill which will see Scotland become the only part of the UK with statutory targets to reduce the number of children experiencing the damaging effects of poverty by 2030.

It also provides a strong framework by which progress can be monitored at a national and local level and the government will publish a three-year child poverty delivery plan by April 2018, which will be updated every five years, and annual reports to measure progress.

The Bill is part of the Fairer Scotland Action Plan which sets out the government’s overall strategy for tackling poverty and inequality in Scotland.

Equalities Secretary Angela Constance said: “This important Bill sets out our ambition to eradicate child poverty in Scotland, by requiring us to meet ambitious targets to reduce child poverty by 2030. “We have consistently said that the fact one in four children in Scotland today are living in poverty is completely unacceptable and we must take action to resolve this – something this Bill sets out.

“We realise that tackling child poverty will require us to work together which is why the Bill includes national and local reporting requirements, and why it’s so important to hear the views of parliament and stakeholders.

“This Bill is a major step forward as we look to give our children the best start in life and I look forward to working with parliament to ensure that we do.”

Alison Johnstone MSP, Social Security spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, has confirmed that she plans to bring amendments to the Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Bill to ensure that full use is made of Holyrood’s new social security powers.

Speaking in yesterday’s debate on Stage One of the Bill, Alison said: “The latest Child Poverty statistics reveal a four per cent rise in Relative Child Poverty in just one year.  That is a rise of 40,000 children, to 260,000.

“The statutory Child Poverty targets in this Bill have existed before, but were removed by the UK Government in favour of measures relating to worklessness, which implies that work is always a route out of poverty. That is simply not the case.

“The Joseph Rowntree Foundation figures show that 1 in every 8 workers in the UK is now living in poverty. In Scotland, 70 per cent of children in poverty live in households with at least one working adult, a 15 per cent increase over 5 years.

“I will be bringing an amendment to the Bill to ensure that it makes full use of the social security system, to boost the incomes of our poorest families. By 2020, it is projected that Child Benefit will have lost 28 per cent of its value when compared to 2010, and we can start to address this by adding £5 a week. This would cut child poverty by 14 per cent, lifting 30,000 children out of poverty.

“Lack of an adequate income must remain central to any poverty measurement and any strategy. That’s why Greens welcome the re-instating of these targets and why we are supporting the principles of the Bill at this stage. We will work hard to ensure the Bill is strengthened as it moves forward.”