Tag: Child Poverty Action Group

Robertson Trust awards £1.7 million to six projects under Financial Security Programme funding

THE ROBERTSON TRUST has announced that six organisations have been awarded over £1.7M under their Financial Security Programme Awards. All of the projects are working to deliver big change that lasts on tackling poverty and trauma in Scotland.

Through our Financial Security theme, we want to fund, support and influence to improve income adequacy, income security, reduce cost-related pressures on finances and improve financial safety nets for people in financial trouble.

We made an open call for long-term change project ideas through our Programme Awards in October 2022 for organisations focused on delivering big change that lasts on financial security in Scotland. 

Our Programme Awards will allow us to work alongside some of the organisations best placed to achieve impact on poverty and trauma in Scotland, allowing us to learn from them and them from us as we go. 

The successful organisations include proposals to develop strengthening social security in Scotland, reducing the costs of essential goods and services, and preventing and relieving financial crisis now and in the future in Scotland. 

We are pleased to share details of the organisations awarded funding:

  • One Parent Families Scotland awarded £384,678.00. This project will deliver evidence-based recommendations to achieve transformational change to the UK child maintenance system to contribute to reducing child poverty. A partnership with One Parent Families Scotland, IPPR (Scotland) & Fife Gingerbread, each organisation will lead on different strands of work, while working together across all activities. Ambitious policy proposals will be developed, at both Scottish and UK government levels, to radically reform the child maintenance system (CMS), informed by robust evidence and lived experience. The project aims to see action to tackle immediate shortcomings of the existing child maintenance system, and secure public and political support for long-term, systemic reform.   
  • The Poverty Alliance – awarded £492,697.00 to fund new work to tackle rural poverty. Too often people living on low incomes in rural parts of pay a premium for essential goods and services – food, energy, transport, etc. ‘Taking Action on Rural Poverty’ (TARP) will develop new ways of addressing rural poverty in Scotland by reducing the rural poverty premium. The project will do this by bringing together people with direct experience of poverty, community and voluntary organisations, the private sector and public bodies to identify and test solutions to the poverty premium. It will also work to improve processes to involve people in local decision making and to make changes to national policy that will affect rural poverty.  
  • Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) – awarded £249,866.00 CPAG strengthening social security project aims to ensure the delivery of Scottish Child Payment and other national and local payments provide greater financial security and stability for those on the margins of entitlement or excluded altogether. The project will develop new ways of bringing together the voice of lived experience and CPAG’s social security expertise to develop and promote approaches that will ensure more families can access Scotland-based payments, and that these payments can be relied upon throughout changes in family’s circumstances. In so doing it will not only aim to prevent families being pulled into poverty but also look to secure greater financial stability for families in Scotland.
  • Save the Children – awarded £249,761.00. The aim of this ambitious project is to inspire and coalesce public support around sustainable policy solutions to meet Scotland 2030 child poverty targets and deliver financial security in Scotland. The project will provide evidence and deeper insight into public attitudes across Scotland on different interventions that could sustainably drive down child poverty. Importantly, it will build a narrative framework – informed by these insights and our lived experience panel – and work with partners across the sector to ensure policy makers and campaigners have evidence on where the public has an appetite for change. Through engagement and influencing the project will build a network of champions to help ensure that findings and insights are lived and breathed and can have real world impact far beyond the lifetime of this project.
  • The Trussell Trust – awarded £230,000.00. The Trussell Trust is launching a three-year project that will help gain an understanding of how to provide better access to and engagement with local advice and support services that reduce destitution and prevent food bank use. The project as a whole will run pilots in six areas – Glasgow, Perth & Kinross, North Lanarkshire, Dundee, Orkney, and Aberdeenshire. By testing different models in six localities that represent key geographies of Scotland, the aim is to learn which interventions work in different areas, support community-led priorities, evaluate and learn comparatively from their experiences, and make recommendations to local and national government. The Robertson Trust is providing funding to part-fund the whole project, alongside a number of other funders.
  • University of Strathclyde (Fraser of Allander Institute) – awarded £158,742.00. The Fraser of Allander Institute and the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities (SCLD) are collaborating to address the limited understanding of the additional costs of disability in Scotland. The social model of disability recognises that people are disabled by barriers in society not by their impairment or disability. The extent to which financial barriers constrain and impact the lives of people with a learning disability and their families is a key part of our research. This project, co-produced with a researcher with lived experience, will provide valuable evidence for the Scottish Government for future programmes of social security reform.

Commenting on the announcement of the new Programme Awards, Robertson Trust Head of Programmes and Practice, Russell Gunson, said: “I’m delighted to share the details of the Robertson Trust’s new programme awards today.

“Each of the awards we have made have demonstrated the potential to deliver big change that lasts on poverty and trauma in Scotland. We’re really excited to be working together to make the most of the potential for long-term change in Scotland. 

“Our support comes at a time when people and places facing poverty are experiencing gale force winds against them and their living standards. We have been living through crisis after crisis, stretching back through this cost-of-living emergency, the Covid-19 pandemic and at least back to the financial crash 15 years ago.

“It is often hard to think long-term when the immediate challenges are so pressing but the Trust has protected significant funds for this long-term change work so that we can prevent poverty and trauma in the future, while also helping to make a difference here and now.

“We will only be successful if we commit to the belief that things can change – we’ve made progress before and we know we can again – if we build the participation, partnerships and coalitions necessary to make change irresistible, and if we build social change over the long-term to reshape the systems and structures that sit underneath why we have the levels of poverty, trauma and inequality that we do.

“We look forward to working with each of the projects and are keen to learn alongside them, to understand what helps and hinders in achieving our mutual ambition of ending poverty and trauma, and its negative impacts, in our society.”

Commenting on the announcement of the Programme Awards, David Reilly, Communities and Networks Manager at the Poverty Alliance said: “Rural poverty is an issue of growing concern for the Poverty Alliance.

“This important grant from Robertson Trust will not only allow us to test ideas to practically take action on rural poverty, but will also help us to strengthen the networks and relationships that we need to make long term progress on rural poverty.”

John Dickie, Director of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland said: “Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland is delighted to be awarded funding by The Robertson Trust. This grant provides us with a unique opportunity to help shape the way Scottish Child Payment and other local and national payments support those currently on the margins.

“It will enable us to bring our expertise together with the voice of lived experience to prevent poverty and increase families financial stability by helping create more inclusive, consistent and secure financial support through the social security system”.

Satwat Rehman, CEO of One Parent Families Scotland, said: “One Parent Families Scotland is delighted to receive this funding from The Robertson Trust. Child maintenance is an issue which single parents have raised with us time and again, calling for there to be a fairer and more equitable system.

“Four in ten children in poverty in Scotland live in a single parent family but maintenance payments can contribute to the costs of raising a child and in giving them a decent quality of life.

“However, over £474 million in child maintenance in the UK has gone unpaid – money owed to children. This is an issue of children’s rights and the rights of the child to financial support.

” Working alongside our amazing partners IPPR Scotland and Fife Gingerbread we will develop ways of supporting families through the maze that is the current child maintenance system and work with families to design a model that works for them and contributes to lifting children out of poverty. “

Claire Telfer, Head of Scotland, Save the Children said: “We are thrilled to have received The Robertson Trust grant for this exciting work.

“We believe this will be a game-changing project in the development of policy and actions to drive down child poverty and we can’t wait to get started”.

David Brownlee, the Trussell Trust’s Financial Inclusion Lead, Scotland, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with The Robertson Trust for this ambitious project. The Trussell Trust has just released its end of year stats, showing the highest levels of need ever in Scotland.

“The record levels of need seen this year, represents a 50% increase in the number of parcels distributed by food banks in the Trussell Trust network in Scotland compared to five years ago in 2017/18.

“The chronic cost of living crisis has only deepened our commitment to end the need for food banks in Scotland and the whole of the Trussell Trust network – this project will play a key part in enabling us to see how to achieve that aim.”

Emma Congreve, Deputy Director of Fraser of Allander Institute, said: “The Fraser of Allander are delighted to be collaborating with SCLD and embarking on this project to produce better evidence to underpin more effective policy for people with learning disabilities in Scotland, especially as this will enable us to recruit and support a researcher with lived experience which we would not have been able to do without this investment.”

Helping families with their living costs

Extra funding to help offset UK Government benefit cap

The Scottish Government is providing £8.6 million in direct support for people affected by the UK benefit cap as part of its work to tackle child poverty.

An estimated 4,000 families with around 14,000 children are now able to apply for extra financial support through their local council’s Discretionary Housing Payments scheme.

Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: “We are increasing funding to help bridge the gap between what people need in benefits from the UK Government and what they actually receive. Eligible households could be £2,500 better off on average per year as a result.

“We will spend up to £84 million in 2023-24 on Discretionary Housing Payments to mitigate not only the UK Government’s bedroom tax and the on-going freeze to Local Housing Allowance rates, but now also the benefit cap which is pushing families into hardship.

“Our child poverty targets are ambitious and that is why we are choosing to invest significantly more in social security than the funding we receive from Westminster and helping to mitigate the damaging impact of UK Government welfare cuts.”

John Dickie, Chair of the Child Poverty Action Group, said: “Mitigating the UK benefit cap is absolutely the right thing to do. Support for struggling families shouldn’t have an arbitrary limit that pushes children into deeper poverty.

“It’s now vital that everyone affected by the benefit cap applies to their local authority for a Discretionary Housing Payment to replace as far as possible the cash support removed by the cap. The Scottish Government has done the right thing, now the UK Government must act to scrap the cap altogether.”

Laura Millar, Strategic Manager at charity Fife Gingerbread, which helps lone parents and families in need, said: “Last year Fife Gingerbread supported the ‘Scrap the Cap’ campaign calling on Westminster to end the benefit cap and the financial hardship this causes.

“Therefore, the Scottish Government’s commitment to empower local authorities to mitigate the impacts of the benefit cap using Discretionary Housing Payments is a positive step.

“Although the number of households affected across Scotland may be relatively small this is an important measure. The greatest risk is that households may be unaware of their entitlement, and every year millions of pounds of benefits go unclaimed. Therefore, we must all raise awareness of this announcement to ensure those most in need of support receive it.”



Funding for benefit cap mitigation by Scottish local authorities through Discretionary Housing Payments is as follows:

2022-23£2.6 million
2023-24£6 million
Total£8.6 million

The benefit cap is a UK Government policy which limits the total amount of benefit that most working age people can receive, even if their full entitlement would be higher.

Discretionary Housing Payments are administered by Local Authorities to support with housing and living costs.

Further information about support available for people during the cost of living crisis can be found at gov.scot/costoflivingsupport.

Best Start, Bright Future: Poverty Alliance webinar on the Scottish Child Poverty Delivery Plan

Best Start, Bright Future – a Poverty Alliance Webinar

Monday 6 June 2022: 10am – 1pm 

Scotland is a country where compassion is strong, but where child poverty is an ongoing injustice that we have to end together.

Best Start, Bright Future, the Scottish Government’s Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, was published at the end of March. It’s designed to help create the change we need to drive down child poverty and reach Scotland’s interim child poverty targets in 2024. 

There are a lot of commitments in the plan, and we are hosting a special morning webinar to explore how we can make sure they are implemented, and how they can best deliver practical change in our communities. 

The plan includes pledges to: increase the level of the Scottish Child Payment; create a new employability offer to help parents get into work, and; mitigation of the benefit cap. 

There is lot more besides, and Best Start, Bright Futures will touch on all areas of anti-poverty activity in Scotland. It is crucial for groups and organisations across the country to understand what it all means for their work.

Please join us for a morning of discussion on how we can all work together to ensure that the ambition contained in the plan is delivered.   

Click here to register!

Agenda 

10:00 Welcome  Peter Kelly, Director, the Poverty Alliance 

10:05 Best Start, Bright Futures: What you need to know! 

Julie Humphreys, Deputy Director, Tackling Child Poverty & Financial Wellbeing, Scottish Government  

10:20 From Plan to Practice: Perspectives on Best Start, Bright Futures 

Professor Morag Treanor, Deputy Chair, Poverty and Inequality Commission 

John Dickie, Director, Child Poverty Action Group Scotland 

Bruce Adamson, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland 

10:50 Panel Discussion 

11:15 Comfort Break 

11.30 Workshops 

1. Making Employability Work for Priority Group Families 

  • Jack Evans, Policy Manager, Joseph Rowntree Foundation 
  • Laura Millar, Strategic Manager, Fife Gingerbread 

2. Social security: Priorities for tackling poverty  

  • Tressa Burke, CEO, Glasgow Disability Alliance (tbc) 
  • Polly Jones, Head of Scotland, Trussell Trust (tbc) 

3. Childcare and Child Poverty – Meeting the Challenges 

  • Anna Ritchie Allan, Executive Director, Close the Gap (tbc) 
  • Satwat Rehman, Chief Executive, One Parent Families Scotland (tbc)  

12.30: Feedback from groups and concluding remarks 

13:00 Close 

From Bad to Worse: Universal Credit families face another income cut

UP TO £660 PER YEAR COULD BE SLASHED FROM HOUSEHOLD INCOME

In a letter to the chancellor last week, the Bank of England stated that it expected inflation to be “around 8 per cent” this spring. With Universal Credit set to rise by just 3.1 per cent in April, families with children on universal credit now face a real-terms cut of around £660 per year, on average.

This is an increase on Child Poverty Action Group’s original analysis which showed a cut of £570, when inflation was expected to be 7.25 per cent.

The £20 cut to universal credit last October plunged out-of-work benefits to their lowest level in 30 years. Latest analysis shows that the picture for families is going from bad to worse.

Without government action, families will be pulled deeper into poverty. Increasing benefits by anything less than 8 per cent risks pushing those with already stretched budgets past breaking point.

Anti-poverty charities wrote to the Chancellor last week calling for a minimum 7% benefits rise:

Prices are rising at the fastest rate in 30 years, and energy bills alone are going to rise by 54% in April. We are all feeling the pinch but the soaring costs of essentials will hurt low-income families, whose budgets are already at breaking point, most.

There has long been a profound mismatch between what those with a low income have, and what they need to get by. Policies such as the benefit cap, the benefit freeze and deductions have left many struggling.

And although benefits will increase by 3.1% in April, inflation is projected to be 7.25% by then. This means a real-terms income cut just six months after the £20 per week cut to universal credit. 

Briefing_UC_Feb_2022_finalDownload

Child Poverty Action Group’s analysis shows families’ universal credit will fall in value by £570 per year, on average. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has calculated that 400,000 people could be pulled into poverty by this real-terms cut to benefits.

The government must respond to the scale of the challenge. Prices are rising across the board. Families with children in poverty will face £35 per month in extra energy costs through spring and summer, even after the government’s council tax rebate scheme is factored in. These families also face £26 per month in additional food costs. The pressure isn’t going to ease: energy costs will rise again in October. 

A second cut to benefits in six months is unthinkable. The government should increase benefits by at least 7% in April to match inflation, and ensure support for housing costs increases in line with rents. All those struggling, including families affected by the benefit cap, must feel the impact.

Much more is needed for levels of support to reflect what people need to get by, but we urge the government to use the spring statement on 23 March to stop this large gap widening even further. The people we support and represent are struggling, and budgets can’t stretch anymore.

Alison Garnham, Chief Executive, Child Poverty Action Group

Emma Revie, Chief Executive, The Trussell Trust

Graeme Cooke, Director of Evidence and Policy, Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Morgan Wild, Head of Policy, Citizens Advice

Dan Paskins, Director of UK Impact, Save the Children UK

Imran Hussain, Director of Policy and Campaigns, Action for Children

Thomas Lawson, Chief Executive, Turn2us

Sophie Corlett, Director of External Relations, Mind

Dr Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive, Oxfam GB

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director, Age UK

Eve Byrne, Director of Advocacy, Macmillan Cancer Support

Kamran Mallick, CEO, Disability Rights UK

Katherine Hill, Strategic Project Manager, 4in10 London’s Child Poverty Network

Mubin Haq, Chief Executive Officer, abrdn Financial Fairness Trust 

Bob Stronge, Chief Executive, Advice NI 

Dr Ruth Allen, Chief Executive, British Association of Social Workers

Joseph Howes, Chief Executive Officer, Buttle UK

Helen Walker, Chief Executive, Carers UK 

Balbir Chatrik, Director of Policy and Communications, Centrepoint

Gavin Smart, Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Housing 

Leigh Elliott, CEO, Children North East

Niall Cooper, Director, Church Action on Poverty

Lynsey Sweeney, Managing Director, Communities that Work

Anna Feuchtwang, Chair, End Child Poverty Coalition

Claire Donovan, Head of Policy, Research and Campaigns, End Furniture Poverty

Victoria Benson, CEO, Gingerbread 

Neil Parkinson, co-head of casework, Glass Door Homeless Charity

Graham Whitham, Chief Executive, Greater Manchester Poverty Action

Yasmine Ahmed, UK Director, Human Rights Watch 

Sabine Goodwin, Coordinator, Independent Food Aid Network 

Jess McQuail, Director, Just Fair 

Gemma Hope, Director of Policy, Leonard Cheshire

Paul Streets, Chief Executive, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales

Jackie O’Sullivan, Director of Communication, Advocacy and Activism, Mencap

Mark Rowland, Chief Executive, Mental Health Foundation

Chris James, Director of External Affairs, Motor Neurone Disease Association

Nick Moberly, CEO, MS Society

Anna Feuchtwang, Chief Executive, National Children’s Bureau

Charlotte Augst, Chief Executive, National Voices

Jane Streather, Chair, North East Child Poverty Commission

Tracy Harrison, Chief Executive, Northern Housing Consortium

Karen Sweeney, Director of the Women’s Support Network, on behalf of the Women’s Regional Consortium, Northern Ireland 

Satwat Rehman, CEO, One Parent Families Scotland

Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive, Rethink Mental Illness

James Taylor, Executive Director of Strategy, Impact and Social Change, Scope

Irene Audain MBE, Chief Executive Scottish, Out of School Care Network

Steve Douglas CBE, CEO, St Mungo’s 

Richard Lane, Director of External Affairs, StepChange Debt Charity

Robert Palmer, Executive Director, Tax Justice 

Claire Burns, Director, The Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection (CELCIS)

The Disability Benefits Consortium 

Dr. Nick Owen MBE, CEO, The Mighty Creatives

Peter Kelly, Director, The Poverty Alliance

Elaine Downie, Co-ordinator, The Poverty Truth Community

Tim Morfin, Founder and Chief Executive, Transforming Lives for Good (TLG)

UCL Institute of Health Equity 

Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, Director, Women’s Budget Group 

Natasha Finlayson OBE, Chief Executive, Working Chance

Claire Reindorp, CEO, Young Women’s Trust 

Businesses in Scotland are also calling for the Chancellor to announce new measures to help with rising costs ahead of his Spring Statement tomorrow, according to a recent survey from Bank of Scotland.  

As inflation hits the highest levels seen since 1992, over half (55%) of Scottish businesses said that direct help with energy bills and rising costs tops their wish list for the Chancellor. This was followed closely by calls for a reduction in VAT, cited by two-fifths (40%), while almost a quarter of firms (23%) want increased funding to help create new jobs and develop skills. 

Rising prices remain a key challenge for business. Almost half (46%) of respondents said they are concerned about having to increase the costs of goods and services and over one in ten (14%) stated that inflation is reducing profitability. Almost one in ten (9%) said rising prices had caused them to worry about having to make staff redundant and a further one in ten (9%) were concerned about not being able to pay their bills. 

To help specifically with rising prices Scottish businesses are asking the Chancellor for a VAT reduction (46%), while a third (35%) have called for grants to cover rising energy costs. A further quarter (23%) called for grants to support investment in energy saving measures. 

The data comes as businesses face continuing supply chain challenges, which are reducing the availability of stock (40%), causing hikes in freight costs (39%) and disruption through Rules of Origin and VAT requirements from EU suppliers (33%).

Fraser Sime, regional director for Scotland at Bank of Scotland Commercial Banking, said: “Rising prices are causing multiple challenges for businesses across Scotland and the pressure from inflation shows no sign of abating in the near-term.  

“As we wait for the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, we’ll continue to remain by the side of business in Scotland and support the country’s ongoing economic recovery from the pandemic.” 

Responding to the ONS public sector finances statistics for February  Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak said: “The ongoing uncertainty caused by global shocks means it’s more important than ever to take a responsible approach to the public finances.  

 “With inflation and interest rates still on the rise, it’s crucial that we don’t allow debt to spiral and burden future generations with further debt.”

 “Look at our record, we have supported people – and our fiscal rules mean we have helped households while also investing in the economy for the longer term.”

All will be revealed when the Chancellor delivers his Spring Statement (Budget) at Westminster tomorrow.

Online advice booklet launched to support Scotland’s kinship carers

A new online booklet is launched today to help people across Scotland who care for the child of a relative, or friend, after the vast majority (88%) of kinship carers said they were not given enough information about how to access vital financial and emotional support.

What Now? produced by the Kinship Care Advice Service for Scotland (KCASS), includes a guide to the kinship assessment system, as well as contact details of organisations and support groups who can offer help and advice to carers.

Since 2010, there has been a significant increase across Scotland in the number of children being cared for by family member or friend because they are unable to live with their birth parents, an arrangement known as kinship care.

The latest Scottish Government statistics show there were 4,456 children formally looked after in kinship care in 2019-20, (31% of the looked after children population), compared to 3,172 children in 2009-2010 (20% of the looked after children population). **

KCASS, which is operated by Adoption UK Scotland and Adoption and Fostering Alliance Scotland in collaboration with the Child Poverty Action Group, is urging kinship carers and social workers to access What Now? online, or request a hard copy of the booklet, launched to mark the start of this year’s Kinship Care Week.

Susan Hunter, KCASS project coordinator, said: “Since its inception our KCASS Advisory Group, all of whom are kinship carers, has highlighted the lack of suitable information available to them, particularly at the start of their kinship journey. 

“All too often kinship carers get in touch with our helpline asking for assistance; they have taken on the care of children at short notice with no understanding of what this will entail for them and their family.

“Kinship carers describe feeling overwhelmed and very much alone. Where they have been provided with information, they have found this to be difficult to comprehend with terms they are not familiar with, leaving them confused and uninformed.”

Children’s Minister Clare Haughey said: “Kinship Care Week provides an opportunity to celebrate and pay tribute to the important role that kinship carers play in providing loving, secure, stable, and nurturing homes for children and young people who can no longer live with their parents.

“All kinship carers deserve to get the support they need, and I welcome publication of the What Now? booklet, which will help kinship carers access important information. I would like to thank members of the KCASS Advisory Group who ensured the voices of those with care experience were heard when the booklet was developed.”

Fiona Aitken, director, Adoption UK Scotland, said: “We’re proud to be facilitating Kinship Care Week as an opportunity for us to raise the profile of the carers who tirelessly provide loving homes for their children. 

“The week allows us to provide valuable opportunities for children in kinship families to take part in fun activities, workshops and group sessions for carers and learning and networking events for practitioners, encouraging all Scottish kinship care families, and those who support them, to take part.”

Robin Duncan, Adoption and Fostering Alliance Scotland director, said: “Kinship Care Week is a great opportunity to increase awareness of kinship care and give recognition to the carers for the remarkable, and often unsung, contribution they make. It also gives us the chance to spread the word about the new What Now? booklet so that this can be as widely available as possible helping to improve the availability and consistency of support to people when they take on the care of a child.”

This year’s Kinship Care Week takes place from 14th -18th March and features a range of webinars and discussion groups for carers, social workers, and childcare professionals. A full programme of events can be found at https://kinship.scot/kinship-care-week-2022/

Kinship carers or professionals can order a hard copy of What Now? by contacting KCASS at advice@kinshipscot.org, or by calling 0808 800 0006.

What-Now-booklet-2022_onlineDownload

Case Study

Michelle became a kinship carer to her two granddaughters five years ago. She says she and her husband were not given any advice or guidance at the time about kinship care or what was expected of them as carers.

She said: “When I first became a kinship carer I got a call out of the blue asking me to look after my granddaughters for a few weeks whilst social work got things sorted out at home. Five years later they are still with us.

“The day they arrived I heard the words kinship carer, something I had never heard of before and knew nothing about. My husband, daughter and I looked like rabbits caught in headlights with two little children. We were given no help, advice, or guidance as to what to do or what was expected of us, we felt so very alone and angry. We had no contact numbers and did not even receive a phone call. If I had been given this booklet then it would have made things a little easier. Just to know that we were not alone and that help was out there, it would have been an absolute lifeline.

“I suggested developing a booklet like this at the KCASS Advisory Group which I am a part of. I didn’t want anyone else to go through the horrible, sometimes debilitating situation I was left in. This booklet would have helped so very much.

“That is why I am so very passionate and determined that it should be given to all kinship carers when they take on the care of a child, just so they know that they are not alone and have all the information they will need.”

Scottish Child Payment to be doubled, First Minister confirms

The Scottish Child Payment will be doubled to £20 per week per child from April 2022, the First Minister has announced. The decision has been welcomed by poverty camapigners.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that more than 105,000 children will immediately benefit from the increased payment, which supports low income families with children aged under 6.

First introduced in February 2021 as a £10 per week payment designed to tackle child poverty, it provides regular, additional financial support for eligible families.

The benefit, which is unique in the UK, will be fully rolled out to children under the age of 16 by the end of 2022, subject to data on qualifying benefits being received from the Department of Work and Pensions. It is expected over 400,000 children could be eligible for the doubled payment from that point.

From 2023/24 it will represent an annual investment in tackling child poverty of around £360 million a year. The increase to £20 per week further underlines the Scottish Government’s national mission to tackle child poverty.

The First Minister said: “The Scottish Government is determined to lift children out of poverty.

“Of the £2 billion a year that the Scottish Government invests to support people on low incomes, over £670 million is already targeted at children. Through the range of new payments delivered by Social Security Scotland, low income families receive, in the early years of each child’s life, £5,000 of additional financial support.

“At the heart of this is the Scottish Child Payment – the only payment of its kind anywhere in the UK, designed solely to lift children out of poverty and give them better lives. The £10 per week payment for eligible children under age 6 will be extended to all eligible children under 16 at the end of 2022; and we committed to doubling the payment to £20 per child per week within this Parliamentary term.

“I am proud that our budget will confirm that we will double the Scottish Child Payment from the start of the new financial year. This increase to £20 per child per week will reach over 105,000 children under age 6 in just four months’ time.  When we extend the Scottish Child Payment to all under 16s at the end of next year, over 400,000 children and their families will be eligible.

“This is the boldest and most ambitious anti-poverty measure anywhere in the UK. Delivering it isn’t easy. It will involve hard choices elsewhere in our budget. But it is a choice we are opting to make.

“Eradicating child poverty is essential if we are to build the strongest foundation for Scotland’s future. And that is what we are determined to do.”

Scottish Government Minister and Scottish Green Party Co-Leader Patrick Harvie said: “With rising inflation, energy costs and the recent UK Government cuts to Universal Credit, further action to tackle child poverty could not have been more urgent.

“I’m therefore delighted that the Scottish Government has been able to double the Scottish Child Payment from April, just months after our policy of free bus travel for children and young people goes live.

“These bold actions deliver on key commitments made in the cooperation deal between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party, and will make a real difference to families across Scotland.”

Scottish Greens MSP Lorna Slater said the decision will be pivotal to tackling child poverty in Lothian. 

Ms Slater said: “With a new Covid variant, rising energy costs, inflation and the catastrophic impact of a Tory Brexit being felt, it is more important than ever that we do everything we can to help people that are being hit by Westminster’s cuts and austerity.

“That is why I’m delighted that we will see the Scottish Child Payment doubled in the forthcoming Scottish budget. This will be pivotal to tackling child poverty and will be welcomed by families that are feeling stretched, particularly those that have been hit by Boris Johnson’s punishing Universal Credit cut.

“With Greens in government we are delivering for people and the planet and making a real difference to families in Lothian and beyond.” 

“That is why we are introducing free bus travel for everyone under 22 from January, extending free school meals to all primary school pupils and ensuring that government contracts pay the real living wage. We will continue to work towards a fairer, greener Scotland.” 

Social Security Scotland delivers a number of benefits for families. These include Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment, Early Learning Payment, School Age Payment and Best Start Foods.

The newly doubled Scottish Child Payment, together with the three Best Start Grant payments and Best Start Foods, could give families up to £8,400 by the time their first child turns 6.

Campaigners have welcomed the announcement:

Chris Birt, Associate Director for Scotland at Joseph Rowntree Foundation said: “This is very welcome news that will provide vital support for families with young children following what is expected to be a challenging winter as the cost of living continues to rise. Doubling the payment for older children cannot come soon enough. 

“As we noted in our Poverty in Scotland report, this investment alone will not be enough to meet the interim child poverty targets, but it is an important step in the right direction and will make a real difference to families.”

Edinburgh protest against cut to Universal Credit

Demonstrators gathered at High Riggs Jobcentre yesterday to demand the re-instatement of the £20 cut to Universal Credit. The protest was called by Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty in response to a call from Disabled People Against the Cuts for UK-wide protests.

Participants included disabled people, pensioners, workers and a group of school students.

Police attended but did not intervene.

The demonstrators denounced the UK government cut, due to be implemented from the end of this month. Protestors held placards with the hashtag #20MoreForAll, demanding the £20 increase be extended to “legacy benefits” like Job Seekers Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance.

Campaigners have raised alarm at the hardship which a £20 cut will cause to the six million Universal Credit claimants, who include the low paid, unemployed, families and sick and disabled people.

Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty leaflets distributed at the protest quoted research by the Child Poverty Action Group.

The research reveals that over the last decade nearly 100 cuts have been made to social security entitlement and the value of payments has fallen as social security rates have been either frozen or increased by less than inflation.

Thus even with the £20 increase a typical Universal Credit claimant would be hundreds of pounds worse off in 2021 than in 2010.

Ethel MacDonald of Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty said: “The brutal cut in Universal Credit is yet another example of governments attacking the poor to benefit the rich.

“This is also an attack on wages and conditions, aiming to force people to accept insecure low paid jobs. Many on Universal Credit are of course already in such badly paid work, since 39% of Universal Credit claimants are in employment.”

The ECAP spokesperson urged people to organise: “ We need to organise at the grass-roots to resist the cut to Universal Credit, the entire austerity agenda, and the whole profit-based system.

“Claimants need to join together and support each other – for example by accompanying each other to appointments and assessments.”

ECAP stress: “After today’s protest, the struggle against the cut continues. What’s more, we are opposing the DWP’s reckless return to compulsory jobcentre appointments – this endangers both claimants and jobcentre workers, due to the continuing covid threat. We totally oppose all sanctions, and urge claimants to contact us for solidarity.”

While MSPs will debate the Universal Credit cut at Holyrood today, the decision lies with Westminister. The UK Government insists the UC uplift was always intended to be a temporary measure and that their focus is on getting people into work.

Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty ecapmail@gmail.com

www.edinburghagainstpoverty.org.uk 

Twitter @ecap_org 

https://www.facebook.com/edinburghagainstpoverty

Child poverty rising in every Scottish local authority, latest figures reveal

Child poverty has risen in every Scottish local authority since 2015, according to new research published today by the End Child Poverty coalition. The new data shows the scale of the challenge faced by UK, Scottish and local government if commitments to end child poverty in Scotland are to be met.

The research by Loughborough University, on behalf of the End Child Poverty coalition, shows that, even before the pandemic*, levels of child poverty in Scotland ranged from nearly one in six children in the Shetland Islands and East Renfrewshire to nearly one in three in Glasgow – once housing costs are taken into account.

Across the UK the North East of England has seen the most dramatic rise in child poverty in the past five years with child poverty rising by over a third – from 26% of all children to 37% – over five years.

Scotland has lower levels of child poverty (24%) than England (30%) or Wales (31%). However, campaigners in Scotland say that there can be no room for complacency if statutory child poverty targets agreed by all the Holyrood parties are to be met.

The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act, passed unanimously by the last parliament, requires the new Scottish government to ensure fewer than 18% of children are living in poverty by 2023/24, on course to less than 10% by 2030. Councils and local health boards are also required to publish annual Local Child Poverty Action Reports setting out action being taken at local level to tackle child poverty. The End Child Poverty campaigners are urging that local powers, including over economic development, housing and welfare, are all used to maximise family incomes and reduce the costs parents face.

Responding to the latest figures Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said: “In Scotland, we share a responsibility to care for all of our children. These statistics show the need for bold, far-reaching action to loosen the grip of poverty on people’s lives, and ensure each of us has what we need to live a decent and dignified life. 

“Stemming this rising tide of hardship must be a priority for the new Scottish Government, and there are actions that can be taken right now to do just that – starting with doubling the Scottish Child Payment and accelerating its rollout for children over the age of 6. This would mean families who are struggling to stay afloat will receive the support they need to avoid being swept into poverty.”

Speaking on behalf of members of End Child Poverty John Dickie, director of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, added: “Solid foundations have been laid in Scotland for future progress on child poverty, not least the introduction of the Scottish child payment and an increasing focus on action at local level.

“But this new data is a stark reminder that child poverty was still rising in every part of Scotland, even before the pandemic struck. The challenge now is for government at all levels to use every power they have to boost family incomes and reduce the costs that struggling parents face.

“The new Scottish parliament must act on election promises and make tackling child poverty its top priority. The cross party commitment to at least doubling the Scottish child payment needs to be implemented as a matter of utmost urgency in order to help meet the 2023/24 targets.

“But child poverty also needs to be a priority at local level. Local powers, including over economic development, housing and welfare, must be used to maximum effect to ensure all families have a disposable income fit for giving children a decent start in life.”

The End Child Poverty coalition is also calling on the UK government to recognise the scale of the problem and its impact on children’s lives.

They say a credible UK government plan is needed to end child poverty across the UK, including a commitment to increase UK child benefits. Given the extent to which families are already struggling, the £20 per week cut to Universal Credit planned in October should also be revoked they say, with the support also extended to those still receiving financial assistance from the old benefit system, referred to as ‘legacy benefits’, before they are switched to Universal Credit.

“The figures speak for themselves – the situation for children couldn’t be starker. We all want to live in a society where children are supported to be the best they can be, but the reality is very different for too many.

“The UK Government can be in no doubt about the challenge it faces if it is serious about ‘levelling up’ parts of the country hardest hit by poverty. After the year we’ve all had, they owe it to our children to come up with a plan to tackle child poverty that includes a boost to children’s benefits. And they need to scrap plans to cut Universal Credit given parents and children are having a tough enough time as it is.”

Find out more on End Child Poverty’s website

New child povery data reveals true extent of ‘levelling up’ challenge

  • More than half of children living in some constituencies are living in poverty after housing costs are factored in.
  • Highest rates of child poverty in London and Birmingham
  • Sharpest increases in child poverty in Midlands and northern cities.
  • Local authority and constituency data available below.

Child poverty has risen most sharply in parts of the Midlands and Northern towns and cities in the past four years, according to research published today by the End Child Poverty coalition showing the scale of the challenge faced by government if it is to realise its ambition to build back better and level up opportunities for children across the UK.

The research by Loughborough University shows that, before the pandemic, in some parts of the country the majority of children were growing up in poverty, once housing costs are taken into account.

The greatest concentrations of children living in poverty are in London, with London boroughs and parts of Birmingham dominating the list of local authorities where child poverty is highest. In a dozen constituencies in London and Birmingham, more than half the children are living below the poverty line.

Yet the research also shows that the problem is not confined to the UK’s two largest cities. In the last four years, child poverty has risen fastest in parts of the Midlands and Northern towns and cities. Middlesbrough and parts of Tyneside have seen child poverty rates soar by over 10 percentage points since 2014/15.

In the past, low incomes in these areas were counteracted by cheaper housing costs, but during the five years leading up to 2018/19, rents in other parts of the country have risen by the same amount as in the capital, so in places where incomes are being depressed, this is less likely to be offset by falling relative housing costs.

Many of these families find, that once their housing costs are paid, they do not have enough money to meet their children’s needs and are left no option but to turn to crisis help, like food banks, and are increasingly reliant on free school meals.

The impact of poverty on children is well documented with children from low income families more likely to experience worse physical and mental health; do less well in school; and have fewer opportunities in the future.

The coalition is calling on the Government to recognise the scale of the problem and its impact on children’s lives. They are urging the Government to set out an ambitious plan to tackle child poverty encompassing not only social security spending but the high cost of housing and childcare and investment in children’s services.

The report is based on data published by the Department for Work and Pensions in March 2020, and on estimates of the effect of housing costs on poverty rates produced by the Centre for Research in Social Policy  at Loughborough University, based on survey evidence.

Earlier this year, Boris Johnson was rebuked by the statistics watchdog for his repeated misuse of child poverty statistics. The Statistics Authority upheld a complaint from the End Child Poverty coalition judging that on three separate occasions his statements on child poverty were ‘incorrect’.

Anna Feuchtwang, Chair of End Child Poverty which commissioned the research, said: “The Government can be in no doubt about the challenge it faces if it is serious about ‘levelling up’ disadvantaged parts of the country.

“This new data reveals the true extent of the hardship experienced by families on low incomes – the overwhelming majority of which were working households before the pandemic. The children affected are on a cliff edge, and the pandemic will only sweep them further into danger.

“The Prime Minister must urgently admit to the true extent of child poverty in our country rather than resorting to his own inaccurate statistics. An ambitious plan to   put this shameful situation right would be transformational for millions of children.

“As a matter of urgency we are calling on the Chancellor not to go ahead with planned cuts to Universal Credit which would see families lose out on £1000 a year. Given today’s data, this cut is unconscionable.”

End Child Poverty is calling for an urgent Government plan to end child poverty including:

  • Uprating of housing assistance in line with inflation;
  • Retain the £20 uplift in Universal Credit introduced at the start of the pandemic, which the Government has indicated will end in April 2021(a move supported by over 63k people and counting who have signed a petition to the Government);
  • End the benefit cap and the two-child limit on benefits;
  • Invest in all children with an increase to child benefit
  • Extend Free School Meals to all families in receipt of Universal Credit and those with No Recourse to Public Funds

The full report ‘Local indicators of child poverty after housing costs, 2018/19’, as well as tables with local data, are available at: www.endchildpoverty.org.uk

THE PICTURE IN SCOTLAND

Child poverty has risen in nearly every Scottish local authority and Westminster constituency since 2014/15, according to research published today by the End Child Poverty coalition.

The new data shows the scale of the challenge faced by UK, Scottish and local government if commitments to end child poverty in Scotland are to be met and the promise to level up opportunities for children across the UK realised. 

The research by Loughborough University shows that, even before the pandemic, levels of child poverty in Scotland ranged from one in  seven children in the Shetland Islands to nearly one in three in Glasgow, once housing costs are taken into account. The varying impact of housing costs on levels of child poverty in different parts of the country is highlighted.

The data shows London boroughs and parts of Birmingham dominating the list of UK local authorities where child poverty is highest – however the campaigners say that there can be no room for complacency in Scotland.

They highlight that the impact of poverty on children is well documented with children from low income families more likely to experience worse physical and mental health; do less well in school; and have fewer opportunities in the future.

The coalition is calling on the UK Government to recognise the scale of the problem and its impact on children’s lives. They are urging UK Ministers to set out an ambitious plan to use Westminster powers to tackle child poverty across the UK, and are asking the Holyrood government to build on the Scottish child poverty delivery plan already in place.

They welcome the new Scottish child payment which will see eligible children under six entitled to £10 per week additional support from February 2021, with all under 16s benefitting by the end of 2022.

However they say that just to stop child poverty rising will require a doubling in the value of the new payment, and that families need urgent cash support now to bridge the gap until it’s roll out.

The report is based on data published by the Department for Work and Pensions in March 2020, and on estimates of the effect of housing costs on poverty rates produced by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University, based on survey evidence.

Earlier this year, Boris Johnson was rebuked by the statistics watchdog for his repeated misuse of child poverty statistics. The Statistics Authority upheld a complaint from the End Child Poverty coalition judging that on three separate occasions his statements on child poverty were ‘incorrect’.

Speaking on behalf of members of End Child Poverty in Scotland, John Dickie, said: “The Prime Minister must urgently face up to the true extent of child poverty across the UK rather than resorting to his own inaccurate statistics. An ambitious plan to put this shameful situation right would be transformational for millions of children in Scotland and across the UK.

“As a matter of urgency we are calling on the Chancellor not to go ahead with planned cuts to Universal Credit which would see families lose out on £1000 a year. Given today’s data, this cut is unconscionable.”

Mr Dickie also called for more action from government in Scotland: “Here in Scotland the Holyrood government’s child poverty delivery plan and prioritisation of the new Scottish child payment are hugely welcome.

“But these new figures highlight the importance of keeping housing costs affordable, the importance of reviewing the value of the Scottish child payment and the urgent need to use existing payment mechanisms, like local authority school clothing grants, to provide extra financial support to families right now.”

End Child Poverty is calling for an urgent UK Government plan to end child poverty including:

  • Uprating of housing assistance in line with inflation;
  • Retaining the £20 uplift in Universal Credit introduced at the start of the pandemic, which the Government has indicated will end in April 2021(retaining the uplift is supported by over 63k people who have signed a petition to the UK Government);
  • Ending the benefit cap and the two-child limit on benefits;
  • Investing in all children with an increase to child benefit

The full report ‘Local indicators of child poverty after housing costs, 2018/19’, as well as tables with local data, are available at: www.endchildpoverty.org.uk 

  Children living in poverty, below 60% median income after housing costs, by Scottish local authority
Local authorityNumberPercentagePercentage point change (2015-19)
2014/152018/192014/152018/19
Aberdeen City6439747119.2%21.5%2.3
Aberdeenshire7622793815.6%16.1%0.5
Angus4253460821.6%24.0%2.4
Argyll and Bute2876305621.2%23.4%2.2
City of Edinburgh141451529518.8%19.5%0.7
Clackmannanshire2250240924.8%26.8%2.0
Dumfries and Galloway5610614123.4%26.2%2.8
Dundee City5812654024.5%27.3%2.8
East Ayrshire5250589924.8%27.9%3.1
East Dunbartonshire2899310915.7%16.1%0.5
East Lothian4188448922.3%23.3%1.0
East Renfrewshire2791294015.4%15.2%-0.2
Falkirk6555692923.1%24.5%1.4
Fife153901699324.0%26.3%2.4
Glasgow City261463182327.0%31.8%4.8
Highland8637905421.5%23.0%1.6
Inverclyde2904301322.1%23.8%1.7
Midlothian3713406822.8%23.2%0.4
Moray3480361721.0%22.4%1.5
Na h-Eileanan Siar76884717.3%19.5%2.2
North Ayrshire5895644825.2%28.3%3.0
North Lanarkshire155031652824.4%26.2%1.8
Orkney Islands69177919.8%21.9%2.1
Perth and Kinross5013540320.4%22.2%1.7
Renfrewshire6083695820.2%23.0%2.8
Scottish Borders4132454421.6%23.9%2.3
Shetland Islands54960812.8%14.4%1.6
South Ayrshire4167440423.3%25.0%1.7
South Lanarkshire120831279922.0%23.2%1.2
Stirling3168328520.5%21.3%0.8
West Dunbartonshire3861431024.6%27.4%2.8
West Lothian7632838021.7%23.7%1.9
Child poverty, % of children below 60% median income, before (BHC) and after (AHC) housing costs, by Scottish local authority
2018/192018/19 
BHC         AHCpercentage point difference
 between BHC and AHC
Aberdeen City14.9%21.5%6.6
Aberdeenshire10.4%16.1%5.7
Angus17.6%24.0%6.4
Argyll and Bute17.3%23.4%6.1
City of Edinburgh12.6%19.5%6.9
Clackmannanshire20.8%26.8%6.0
Dumfries and Galloway20.6%26.2%5.6
Dundee City21.4%27.3%5.9
East Ayrshire22.9%27.9%5.0
East Dunbartonshire10.4%16.1%5.7
East Lothian15.8%23.3%7.5
East Renfrewshire10.0%15.2%5.2
Falkirk18.1%24.5%6.4
Fife20.5%26.3%5.8
Glasgow City28.0%31.8%3.8
Highland16.7%23.0%6.3
Inverclyde17.7%23.8%6.1
Midlothian15.7%23.2%7.5
Moray16.1%22.4%6.3
Na h-Eileanan Siar13.4%19.5%6.1
North Ayrshire23.4%28.3%4.9
North Lanarkshire20.6%26.2%5.6
Orkney Islands15.6%21.9%6.3
Perth and Kinross15.7%22.2%6.5
Renfrewshire16.9%23.0%6.1
Scottish Borders17.6%23.9%6.3
Shetland Islands9.3%14.4%5.1
South Ayrshire19.2%25.0%5.8
South Lanarkshire17.2%23.2%6.0
Stirling14.9%21.3%6.4
West Dunbartonshire21.9%27.4%5.5
West Lothian17.1%23.7%6.6
Child poverty, % of children below 60% median income after housing costs (AHC), by Westminster constituency
Parliamentary constituencyNumberPercentagePercentage point change (2015-19)
2014/152018/192014/152018/19
Aberdeen North3334408722.0%26.5%4.5
Aberdeen South1925232213.9%16.0%2.1
Airdrie and Shotts4151441025.5%27.2%1.7
Angus3320364922.9%25.7%2.8
Argyll and Bute2809302120.6%23.2%2.5
Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock3913421226.2%28.6%2.5
Banff and Buchan3246336520.1%20.8%0.7
Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk3436388622.4%25.2%2.8
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross2385254623.1%25.6%2.5
Central Ayrshire3630395924.7%27.0%2.3
Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill4294454824.0%25.9%1.8
Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East3398374521.3%23.3%2.0
Dumfries and Galloway3753405824.3%26.8%2.5
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale3014331021.2%23.8%2.6
Dundee East3385360721.5%23.1%1.7
Dundee West3236380124.6%28.2%3.6
Dunfermline and West Fife3887434221.1%23.2%2.1
East Dunbartonshire2289229216.2%15.6%-0.7
East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow3242360218.3%20.3%2.0
East Lothian4172505822.2%26.2%3.9
East Renfrewshire3119332617.2%17.2%0.0
Edinburgh East2808308821.6%22.8%1.2
Edinburgh North and Leith2909311619.0%19.9%0.9
Edinburgh South2105218014.7%14.7%0.0
Edinburgh South West2884304918.6%19.2%0.6
Edinburgh West2432290014.3%15.8%1.5
Na h-Eileanan an Iar70079915.8%18.4%2.6
Falkirk4274459421.8%23.8%2.0
Glasgow Central3859556132.8%41.3%8.5
Glasgow East4316531327.1%30.6%3.5
Glasgow North2473288227.7%31.2%3.5
Glasgow North East4150485028.0%33.4%5.4
Glasgow North West3672428924.8%29.0%4.2
Glasgow South3820435026.4%30.8%4.4
Glasgow South West4549529828.0%31.8%3.9
Glenrothes4390485327.1%29.8%2.7
Gordon2098255011.5%13.5%2.0
Inverclyde2818292621.4%23.2%1.7
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey3697391220.4%21.5%1.1
Kilmarnock and Loudoun4091462424.3%27.6%3.3
Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath4706529326.2%29.2%3.0
Lanark and Hamilton East3673386523.0%23.8%0.7
Linlithgow and East Falkirk4885517322.1%22.5%0.4
Livingston4580515221.2%24.2%3.1
Midlothian3497384321.4%21.8%0.4
Moray3367355220.4%22.0%1.6
Motherwell and Wishaw4518482126.2%27.7%1.5
North Ayrshire and Arran3957423724.8%27.6%2.8
North East Fife2158240218.9%21.1%2.3
Ochil and South Perthshire3790403121.2%22.5%1.3
Orkney and Shetland1346147017.3%19.0%1.7
Paisley and Renfrewshire North2954342118.7%20.8%2.0
Paisley and Renfrewshire South2817338019.8%24.8%5.0
Perth and North Perthshire3438369022.0%23.8%1.9
Ross, Skye and Lochaber2399247820.7%22.3%1.6
Rutherglen and Hamilton West4491472023.3%24.4%1.0
Stirling3099320220.0%20.7%0.7
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine1904213910.2%11.4%1.2
West Dunbartonshire3867430524.7%27.4%2.7

About End Child Poverty

End Child Poverty is a coalition of organisations from civic society including children’s charities, child welfare organisations, social justice groups, faith groups, trade unions and others, united in our vision of a UK free of child poverty. For more details visit: www.endchildpoverty.org.uk    

End Child Poverty members in Scotland include Aberlour, Action for Children, Barnardo’s Scotland, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland, Children 1st, Close the Gap, Engender, One Parent Families Scotland, Oxfam Scotland, Poverty Alliance, and Save the Children.

The 20 UK constituencies with the highest increases in AHC (after housing costs) child poverty 2014/15 -2018/19

Constituency% of children below 60% median income AHC
2014/152018/19%age point increase
UK28%30%2%
Middlesbrough31.2%47.2%16.0%
Newcastle upon Tyne Central31.7%45.2%13.5%
Birmingham Hodge Hill40.5%53.8%13.4%
Bradford West34.9%47.8%12.9%
Birmingham Ladywood41.8%54.5%12.7%
Birmingham Yardley32.4%44.7%12.4%
South Shields28.2%39.3%11.1%
Bradford East36.4%46.9%10.5%
Newcastle upon Tyne East27.1%36.8%9.7%
Bolton South East37.1%46.7%9.6%
Sedgefield23.5%33.0%9.5%
Hartlepool27.6%37.1%9.5%
Oldham West and Royton38.5%48.0%9.4%
Gateshead26.0%35.3%9.3%
Blackburn38.1%47.3%9.2%
Jarrow23.5%32.6%9.1%
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland24.2%33.2%9.0%
Manchester Gorton38.6%47.6%9.0%
North Durham24.3%33.3%9.0%
Easington25.8%34.6%8.8%

The 20 UK constituencies with the highest AHC compared to BHC (before housing costs) poverty rates, 2018/19

Local-child-poverty-indicators-report-october-2020Download
Constituency% of children below 60% median income AHC
AHCBHC%age point difference
UK30%20%10%
Bethnal Green and Bow60.6%30.1%30.5%
Hackney South and Shoreditch52.0%23.9%28.1%
Bermondsey and Old Southwark50.3%22.3%28.0%
Holborn and St Pancras47.9%19.9%28.0%
Vauxhall49.7%22.2%27.5%
Poplar and Limehouse52.4%25.1%27.3%
Islington South and Finsbury46.2%19.4%26.8%
West Ham52.5%25.9%26.6%
Walthamstow50.8%24.5%26.3%
Tottenham50.2%24.0%26.2%
East Ham51.3%25.5%25.8%
Camberwell and Peckham46.1%21.1%25.0%
Hackney North and Stoke Newington44.6%19.6%25.0%
Greenwich and Woolwich45.9%21.0%24.9%
Mitcham and Morden48.5%23.8%24.7%
Leyton and Wanstead46.0%21.3%24.7%
Lewisham West and Penge45.9%21.5%24.4%
Local-child-poverty-indicators-report-october-2020-1Download

Cost Of The School Day UK rollout

  • Child Poverty Action Group awarded funding from The National Lottery Community Fund to remove barriers to learning for children from low-income backgrounds
  • Children in hard-up families are facing barriers to learning opportunities
  • Parents are increasingly asked to contribute to the costs of a school day

A £2 million National Lottery-backed project to support children’s learning and ease financial pressure on low-income parents has begun with 128 schools across the UK set to take action over the next three years.

Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), working with project partners Children North East, will use the National Lottery funding to help schools remove the financial barriers to learning and participation that hold low-income children back, alongside easing the pressure that school-related costs place on struggling families.

The project will draw on previous work by both organisations that has helped schools to explore and address the impact of poverty on education.

Now, thanks to the National Lottery funding, UK Cost of the School Day will roll out to schools in Coventry, Neath Port Talbot, the London boroughs of Greenwich, Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, as well as expanding to Moray in Scotland.

Through a structured, pupil-led approach, UK Cost of the School Day project staff will work with children and young people, families, teachers, school staff and local authorities to identify ‘cost barriers’ in each school – and to co-design ‘action plans’ to remove them.

Inclusion levels and changes in pupils’ experiences of school will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention throughout the first two years of the project, with the final year focussing on spreading changes that have a positive impact for pupils, beyond the initial 128 schools.

Alison Garnham, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said: “School days are supposed to be the best days of a child’s life, but instead for some children and their families, they can be a source of anxiety if there are extra and unexpected costs for parents.

“Nine children in every class of 30 are growing up in poverty and although school is free, increasing costs are putting a great strain on families, causing some children to miss out on aspects of school life.

“This is why we’re delighted with the funding from The National Lottery Community Fund. This project will help schools work out what they can do differently to help to bridge these gaps – by making small changes to school life, they can make a huge difference to a child.”

Pupils and staff in schools which have been involved in the earlier Children North East and CPAG in Scotland projects reported a range of cost-barriers to learning, including:

  • Subject costs (e.g. materials for Art, Home Economics, IT, and the cost of theatre trips for Drama)
  • Not having IT at home for homework
  • Lack of money for school trips
  • Lack of money for travel-to-school fares (or travel home from after school activities which end after the free bus has left)
  • Cost of buying past exam papers and other revision materials
  • Cost of hiring and maintaining a musical instrument

A range of bespoke changes were recommended by these projects, to stop financial exclusion at school, including:

  • Choosing more affordable school trips, subsidising trips and/ or allowing parents to pay for trips in instalments
  • Providing sibling discounts for fun events and trips
  • Removing curriculum costs for subjects like home economics and technology
  • Providing a starter pack for entry level pupils of bag, pencil case and stationery and setting up homework clubs with resources such as IT
  • Reviewing school uniform policies, recycling school uniform items, buying plain blazers and ironing on badges
  • Improved promotion of school clothing grants and free school meals
  • Sharing bus hire with nearby schools
  • Setting up breakfast clubs and breakfast boxes for pupils
  • Reducing or removing costs for after school clubs and activities

John Knights, Senior Head of the UK Portfolio at The National Lottery Community Fund, said:“Thanks to National Lottery players this project will support school children to be able to fully and equally take part in all aspects of school life.

“Importantly the project is putting young people in the lead to create solutions that reduce the stigma that they can feel and enable them to thrive.”

Michele Deans, Operations Director at Children North East said: “Children North East is enormously proud of our Poverty Proofing the School Day initiative and we’re delighted to be partnering with Child Poverty Action Group on this important work.

“We’re looking forward to using our combined expertise to support more schools across the UK and ensure that every pupil can fully participate in school, regardless of family income.”